Department of Health and Social Care

Air Ambulance Services: Northern Ireland

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will fund the air ambulance in Northern Ireland.

Stephen Barclay: The funding of health services in Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administration.

NHS Improvement: NHS Trusts

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings have taken place between NHS Improvement and NHS trusts to agree plans to improve their financial position since 2010; which providers have had such meetings with NHS Improvement; and when each such meeting took place.

Stephen Barclay: As well as regular formal meetings with trusts, NHS Improvement has multiple day-to-day interactions with them which include discussions around financial performance. The frequency of these meetings will depend on the nature and extent of the challenges the trusts face. For example where a trust is not meeting its control total, or is at risk of not meeting it, NHS Improvement will have regular and frequent contact to ensure that the trust is doing everything it can to deliver improvements.

Hospitals: Funerals

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total annual cost to the NHS was of hospital contract funerals under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 in each year between 2010 and 2017.

Stephen Barclay: Neither the Department, NHS Improvement nor Public Health England hold any data on the annual cost to the National Health Service of hospital contract funerals.

NHS Trusts: Procurement

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many companies which comprised a single person were paid for services by NHS trusts since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not held centrally.

Ambulance Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many deaths were recorded of (a) patients awaiting the arrival of an ambulance and (b) patients in an ambulance by each ambulance service in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally. All centrally collected performance data published by NHS England is available at the following address. https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Nurses: Vacancies

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the nurse vacancy rate was on 1 December in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The information is not available in the format requested.

Acute Beds

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average monthly occupancy level was for adult acute admission wards in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The information requested is not available in the format requested. NHS England collects quarterly data from all National Health Service organisations on available overnight and day only beds and the total number of occupied bed days by consultant led specialty, excluding critical care beds. This is available at the following links: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/bed-data-overnight/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/bed-availability-and-occupancy/bed-data-day-only/ Additionally, weekly situation reports are published over winter since 2012-13 which provide weekly management data on general and acute bed occupancy rates. The reports are available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/winter-daily-sitrep-2017-18-data/

NHS Trusts: Insurance

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of NHS trusts do not have buildings insurance cover in excess of £5 million.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally.

Chiropdy

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2018 to Question 129509, on Chiropody, what the name of the NHS Digital healthcare workforce information working group will be.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March to Question 129509, on Chiropody, what plans the NHS Digital healthcare workforce information working group has to consult (a) external organisations and (b) professional bodies.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 5 March to Question 129509, on Chiropody, what the timetable is for the NHS Digital healthcare workforce information working group to report.

Stephen Barclay: The Workforce Information Review Group (WIRG) is a standing group of National Health Service HR and workforce information experts combined with statisticians from NHS Digital, the Department, Health Education England and others, that works to develop and improve workforce data standards over time. It considers the priorities for data improvement and the resources available to make changes on an incremental basis. When changes have been agreed these will be announced by NHS Digital. WIRG and its various subgroups consider specific aspects of healthcare workforce information incorporating input from a wide range of stakeholders, including (but not limited to) the Department, NHS England, Heath Education England, NHS Employers, NHS Improvement, NHS Digital and a range of NHS trusts. Input is also sought from appropriate professional bodies and other interested parties such as the British Medical Association, Royal College of Nursing and the Office for Manpower Economics. There is no specific deadline for the completion of this work as the maintenance of the National Workforce Data Set (NWD) is ongoing to ensure that the workforce data standard remains fit for purpose, to allow for the capture of nationally consistent information about the healthcare workforce for the purposes of monitoring and workforce planning. WIRG has not received any requests to review the information currently captured regarding the chiropody / podiatry workforce. If such a request were received, then WIRG would need to prioritise this against other requests to review aspects of the NWD and it would be actioned accordingly.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many accident and emergency visits there were for minor ailments in each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2012-13.

Stephen Barclay: Information is not available in the format requested. NHS England publish monthly data on the number of attendances at Type 3 accident and emergency (A&E) Departments (other A&E departments/Minor Injury Units) and this is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2017-18/

NHS 111

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of calls made to NHS 111 resulted in a referral to pharmacy in (a) England and (b) each clinical commissioning group in each year since 2012-13.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not available in the format requested. From 2012/13 until June 2017, NHS111 referrals to ‘dental/pharmacy’ were recorded together and it is not possible to provide disaggregated figures. From July 2017 onwards, referrals to dentists and pharmacists are recorded separately and published monthly at national and regional level. The latest data is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/nhs-111-minimum-data-set/nhs-111-minimum-data-set-2017-18/

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's mandate to NHS England for 2018-19, published on 20 March 2018, for reasons the elective surgery waiting time of 18 weeks and the emergency waiting time of 4 hours will not be met until 2020.

Stephen Barclay: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran MP) on 28 March 2018 to Question 133890.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's mandate to NHS England for 2018-19, published on 20 March 2018, what plans his Department has to ensure that the elective surgery and emergency waiting times will be maintained at levels set out in previous years' mandates to NHS England.

Stephen Barclay: The 2018/19 mandate sets out the formal expectation that the National Health Service will meet the agreed constitutional standards on referral to treatment (RTT) and accident and emergency (A&E) waiting times. The Government expects the NHS to deliver the actions set out in the NHS Planning Guidance for 2018/19 in full as key steps towards fully recovering the performance against these core access standards at the levels they are currently set (RTT 92% and A&E 95%). We gave the NHS top priority in the 2017 budget with an additional £2.8 billion of funding for the NHS between 2017-18 and 2019-20, and this has been reflected in the mandate. It takes overall funding for the NHS to over half a trillion pounds between 2015 and 2020.

Accident and Emergency Departments

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of hospitals in England with a Type 1 A&E department have a consultant presence on emergency wards for a minimum of 16 hours a day, seven days a week; and which hospitals in each region meet those criteria.

Stephen Barclay: This information is not collected centrally.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of patients waiting more than six weeks for diagnostic tests by the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Improvement and NHS England provide guidance and support to the National Health Service to help reduce elective waiting times by promoting effective management of patient pathways. Health Education England (HEE) plan to invest in 1,890 more diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers by 2021. They have identified system wide actions to secure a further 955, producing a total of 2,227 full time equivalent (FTE) more diagnostic radiographers and 1,560 FTE more therapeutic radiographers (an 18% increase from 2016), as well as 200 additional clinical endoscopists and a further 300 reporting radiographers to support an increase in capacity for earlier diagnosis by 2021. The majority of patients are being diagnosed and treated promptly against a backdrop of more people being referred and diagnosed than ever before. In 2016/17 the NHS carried out 21.4 million diagnostic tests, seven million more than in 2010.

Health Professions: Ethnic Groups

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of NHS medical practitioners identified as (i) white British and (ii) from any other ethnic group in the most recent data available.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of staff in clinical leadership positions in the NHS identified as (i) white British and (ii) from any other ethnic group in the most recent data available.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of NHS staff in administrative leadership roles identified as (i) white British and (ii) from any other ethnic group in the most recent data available.

Stephen Barclay: Equality and diversity information is held by NHS Digital in the Electronic Staff Record, and is published on a six monthly basis. The most recent data from September 2017 is provided below. Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics: Ethnicity in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England by staff group, September 2017, percentage of ethnicity Total numberWhiteOther Ethnic GroupsUnknownNot statedDoctors116,42753.1%38.5%2.4%6.0%Nurses and Health Visitors320,02475.2%20.8%0.6%3.3%Midwives26,00185.4%11.1%0.5%3.0%Very Senior Managers2,08585.3%5.8%2.4%6.5%Note: percentages do not sum due to rounding. We do not currently collect data on the professional background of leaders in the NHS. The Government published the Race Disparity Audit in October 2017. Detailed NHS workforce statistics have been published on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website, which can be found at the link: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/public-sector-workforce/nhs-workforce/latest Additionally, the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES), which has measured the experience of BAME staff in the NHS since 2016, has shown that the number of very senior managers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds increased by 18% from 2016 to 2017. There has also been a steady increase in the number of NHS trusts which have more than one BAME board member. There are now a total of 25 NHS trusts with three or more BAME members of the board; an increase of nine trusts since 2016. The December 2017 WRES publication can be found at the link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/workforce-race-equality-standard-data-reporting-december-2017/

Nurses: EU Nationals

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses from non-UK EU countries the NHS employed on 1 September (a) 2017, (b) 2016 and (c) 2015.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics as at the last day of each month and the following table shows the number of nurses from non-United Kingdom European Union countries, as at 30 September for each specified year. NHS HCHS: Non-UK EU nurses, as at 30 September for each specified year, headcount: YearNurses from Non UK, EU countries, Headcount:% of all Nurses201518,7716%201622,2277%201721,2376.7%Source: NHS Digital Workforce statistics The statistics show the number of non-UK EU nurses at September 2017 is 21,237. This is 990 fewer than September 2016. Departmental analysis suggests that this reduction is more likely to be a consequence of the Nursing and Midwifery Council introducing more rigorous language testing for European Economic Area applicants, than the decision to leave the European Union. Overall, the non-UK EU National Health Service workforce continued to grow and as of December 2017 there were over 3,600 more non-UK EU staff in the NHS than in June 2016.

Hospitals: Admissions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many admitted patients waited over (a) 18, (b) 26 and (c) 52 weeks for treatment in each (i) NHS and (ii) NHS foundation trust since May 2010.

Stephen Barclay: Consultant led Referral to Treatment (RTT) data is published by NHS England monthly, which includes reporting by individual National Health Service provider. This can be accessed using the internet link below, by selecting ‘Admitted Provider’ and ‘Non Admitted Provider’ data sets for each year and month.https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/

Ambulance Services

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the performance criteria are against which 999 ambulance call handlers are assessed.

Stephen Barclay: The assessment of call handler performance is an operational matter for National Health Service ambulance trusts. NHS ambulance trust call answer performance is published monthly by NHS England and is available at the following address: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/

Midwives

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to increase the number of midwives working in the NHS over the next five years.

Stephen Barclay: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently announced that the Department is planning an increase in National Health Service midwives and maternity support staff with 650 new training places for midwives in 2019 – a 25% increase. We will continue to work with the universities and the NHS to create even more training places in subsequent years to increase the midwifery workforce.

Mental Health Services

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the NHS spends on mental health services in England; and what proportion of that amount is spent on community eating disorder services for adults.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health Dashboard shows that £9.722 billion was spent by clinical commissioning groups on mental health services in England in 2016/17. The Dashboard also shows progress towards key targets set our within the Five Year Forward View (including targets for delivery of eating disorder services). The Dashboard is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/taskforce/imp/mh-dashboard/ Specific figures for the costs of providing community eating disorders services to adults are not available.

Eating Disorders

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of eating disorder specialists in the area of adult eating disorder treatment and care.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman (PHSO) report ‘Ignoring the alarms: how NHS eating disorder services are failing patients’ published in December 2017 described the service failings that led to the avoidable and tragic death of Averil Hart, a 19 year old who suffered from an eating disorder. In response to the PHSO report, a working group has been set up, chaired by Professor Tim Kendall (NHS England and NHS Improvement National Clinical Director), to address the recommendations and take them into account for planned improvement to eating disorder services. The second recommendation in the report recommends that Health Education England (HEE) reviews its current education and training to address the gaps in the provision of eating disorder specialists and HEE is now working with cross system partners within the working group to address this recommendation.

NHS: Foreign Nationals

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what records are held of how much was owed to NHS trusts in the Yorkshire and Humber region in unpaid medical bills incurred by foreign nationals since 2010.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what records are kept of unpaid medical bills owed by overseas visitors and migrants to NHS trusts in Yorkshire and Humber in each year since 2010.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not have an overall estimate of unpaid medical bills relating to the use of the National Health Service by foreign nationals in the Yorkshire and Humber region. NHS trust and NHS foundation trust annual accounts provide information on provisions and debt that has been written off, however this does not give the total debt picture because some of these amounts will be paid in subsequent years.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Ambulance Services

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of ambulance handovers at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were delayed by more than (a) 30 minutes and (b) 60 minutes in the last three months for which data is available.

Stephen Barclay: Ambulance handover performance for Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust during the last three months for which data is available (December 2017 – February 2018) is shown in the table below:  December 2017January 2018February 2018Trust: Arriving by ambulance2,8882,8192,354Trust: Delay 30-60 mins376312269Trust: Delay more than 60 mins272219158Trust: Percentage Delayed more than 30 minutes22.4%18.8%18.1%Source:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/winter-daily-sitreps/winter-daily-sitrep-2017-18-data/

Brain: Tumours

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible brain tumour patients with a glioma had their tumour tissue sample tested for 1p/19q co-deletion biomarker between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible brain tumour patients with a glioma had their tumour tissue sample tested for 1p/19q co-deletion biomarker between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Whittington Hospital

Sir David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether steps are being taken to prevent the closure to new patients of the Lower Urinary Tract Services Clinic in north London.

Steve Brine: The Trust has been working to address the recommendations of the Royal College of Physicians following a service review of the Lower Urinary Tract Service, before the clinic is re-opened to new patients. The Trust is currently in negotiations with commissioners to establish the re-opening of the clinic in the 2018/19 contract.

Innovative Medicines and Medical Technology Review

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the £86 million to support innovators and the NHS in overcoming barriers to getting new, innovative technologies to patients as part of the Accelerated Access Review will be allocated.

Caroline Dinenage: £86 million has been allocated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department of Health and Social Care as follows: - £39 million to improve local adoption and uptake of innovative medical technologies through the 15 Academic Health Science Networks, who will be given increased capacity to help innovative products find the right support and to promote regional adoption and spread;- £35 million over four years to encourage and support innovators to develop more world-leading digital solutions. Through the Digital Health Technology Catalyst, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)-led projects will be supported to develop the evidence base required to launch their products in the National Health Service;- £6 million to help the NHS to adopt and integrate new technologies into everyday practice, through the Pathway Transformation Fund; and- £6 million over three years from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support SMEs to address the difficulties they face in getting their new medicines and medical technologies adopted in the market by supporting them to gather the evidence required to prove clinical efficacy.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hours of trainingon complex regional pain syndrome are included in the syllabus for (a) a medical degree, (b) GP training, (c) a nursing degree and (d) a physiotherapy degree.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hours of trainingon Fibromyalgiaare included in the syllabus for (a) a medical degree, (b) GP training (c) a nursing degree and (d) a physiotherapy degree.

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hours of trainingon Chronic Painare included in the syllabus for (a) a medical degree, (b) GP training, (c) a nursing degree and (d) a physiotherapy degree.

Stephen Barclay: The Department does not hold centrally information on the number of hours of training on specific conditions by profession. Curricula for undergraduate medical education are set by individual medical schools, emphasising the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop in order to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients. The curriculum for training as a general practitioner is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners and educates trainees in identifying and managing those conditions most common to primary care. This curriculum includes outcomes or objectives relating to the management of musculoskeletal problems and core competencies relating to pain management. All medical education has to meet standards set by the General Medical Council (GMC), which is an independent statutory body. The GMC has the general function of promoting high standards of education and co-ordinating all stages of education to ensure that medical students and newly qualified doctors are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for professional practice. Education providers that deliver courses such as nursing or physiotherapy must ensure the relevant regulator is satisfied that their proposed course will deliver graduates who possess the required knowledge and expertise of a newly qualified professional. For nursing, education providers must meet criteria set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. The professional regulator for physiotherapists is the Health and Care Professions Council.

Hospitals: Food

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the Government’s policy is on hospitals sourcing food that is produced locally.

Stephen Barclay: The sourcing and provision of hospital food and catering facilities to meet the standards for nutrition and hydration is a matter for local determination, as every hospital will have different local circumstances. Every hospital has a responsibility to provide the highest level of care possible for their patients and this includes the quality and nutritional value of the food that is served and eaten. It can be helpful for NHS trusts to use local, in-season ingredients where possible, to minimise energy used in food production, transport and storage, as well as supporting the local economy, thereby promoting local employment. The NHS Standard Contract for providers requires them to have regard to the ‘Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services.’

Alcoholic Drinks: Scotland

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what role Public Health England will play in monitoring the effect of the implementation of a minimum unit price for alcohol in Scotland to inform any decision on that policy in England.

Steve Brine: The Department commissioned an evidence review from Public Health England on the public health burden of alcohol, which was published in 2016. This report was a comprehensive review of available evidence, which included the availability of alcohol and its impact on various socioeconomic groups. The report is available to view online at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/583047/alcohol_public_health_burden_evidence_review.pdf The Government will continue to review what further evidence is required to understand the impact of minimum unit pricing to inform future policy decisions, drawing upon the expertise of Public Health England.

NHS: Expenditure

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of recent underspending nationally on depreciation on (a) the NHS estate and (b) NHS equipment over the next (i) five, (ii) 10 and (iii) 15 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the variation between planned and actual spending on depreciation was nationally in each financial year since 2010-11; for what reason such variation occurred; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: National depreciation budgets for all Government Departments are ring-fenced by HM Treasury and this means that underspends against that budget cannot be used for other types of spending. Therefore, any underspend (or overspend) against that budget will have no impact on National Health Service capital spending. Depreciation spending in NHS providers does not form part of the ring-fenced national depreciation budget and the Department does not set depreciation budgets for the NHS provider sector. Individual providers fund depreciation spending through income received from NHS commissioners in return for the provision of healthcare services. In terms of future NHS capital investment, the Autumn Budget 2017 announced £3.5 billion of new capital investment in the NHS by 2022-23, which comes on top of the £425 million of capital funding to support accident and emergency performance and to support locally-led sustainabilty transformation partnerships that was announced at the Spring Budget 2017. Figures for ring-fenced national budgeted and outturn depreciation spending are shown in the following table.YearBudget (£ million)Outturn (£ million)Under / Over spends (£ million)2010-111,1191,210-902011-121,1411,193-532012-131,1821,132502013-141,2241,0701542014-151,2681,1601082015-161,3871,1152722016-171,5111,003508 As depreciation spending in NHS providers does not form part of the ring-fenced depreciation budget, the under spends shown above will mostly relate to central Departmental budgets such as the centrally-managed informatics programme, NHS property services and impairments of stockpiled vaccines.

Brain: Tumours

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible brain tumour patients with a glioblastoma had their tumour tissue assessed for MGMT promoter hypermethylation status between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2016.

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of eligible brain tumour patients with a glioblastoma had their tumour tissue assessed for MGMT promoter hypermethylation status between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017.

Steve Brine: This information is not held centrally.

Sugar: Soft Drinks

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what date did each NHS trust in the North West sign up to NHS England's voluntary scheme to reduce the sale of sugar sweetened drinks in NHS canteens, shops and vending machines introduced in 2018; and which NHS trusts in that region have yet to sign up to that initiative.

Steve Brine: Of the 35 National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts in the North West region 27 are signed up to the scheme. They are below as follows, shown by the quarter by which they joined.Q1 2017/18Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation TrustLiverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation TrustQ2 2017/18East Lancashire Hospitals NHS TrustGreater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation TrustLancashire Care NHS Foundation TrustLancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustMid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustNorth West Ambulance Service NHS TrustPennine Acute Hospitals NHS TrustSalford Royal NHS Foundation TrustSouthport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS TrustSt Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS TrustStockport NHS Foundation TrustTameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation TrustThe Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS TrustThe Walton Centre NHS Foundation TrustWarrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustWirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation TrustQ3 2017/18Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation TrustAintree University Hospital NHS Foundation TrustBolton NHS Foundation TrustCountess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation TrustEast Cheshire NHS TrustThe Christie NHS Foundation TrustThe Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation TrustWirral Community NHS Foundation TrustQ4 2017/18North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust The trusts and foundation trusts not signed up yet are:Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation TrustBlackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustBridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustLiverpool Community Health NHS TrustLiverpool Women's NHS Foundation TrustManchester University NHS Foundation TrustMersey Care NHS Foundation TrustPennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

Breast Cancer: Screening

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the falling rates of breast cancer screening across England, in patients aged between 50 and 70 years old.

Steve Brine: The commissioning and provision of screening, outlined in the national service specification for breast screening, requires providers to work with local authorities and other stakeholders to develop plans to address uptake and inequalities. Breast screening services promote uptake by engaging with practices ahead of screening in their area, providing practices with up-to-date information about the programme and notifying them of the final outcomes of screening invitations for each of their patients. Commissioners work with providers to ensure that letters and invitations have been endorsed by general practitioners. Providers have systems in place to ensure women who do not respond are provided with an opportunity not to miss screening by sending second timed appointments, ensuring that women are invited every three years and have tailored information available for particular groups of women, for example those with learning difficulties. Further information is available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/service-spec-24.pdf

Continuing Care

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all eligibility decisions for continuing healthcare funding are made within 28 days.

Caroline Dinenage: NHS England has assurance mechanisms in place to hold all non-compliant clinical commissioning groups to account in relation to NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments and the application of the NHS Continuing Healthcare National Framework. From April 2017, Quality Premium payments to clinical commissioning groups have been linked to compliance to the NHS Continuing Healthcare National Framework, with a ‘Best Practice Standard’ of 80% of NHS Continuing Healthcare assessments to be completed within 28 days.

Continuing Care

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle variations in the number of people assessed as eligible to receive continuing healthcare funding in different regions of the UK.

Caroline Dinenage: There will always be some variation across clinical commissioning groups in NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility, due to a wide variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, the age dispersion within the local population and variations between geographical areas in terms of their level of health need. NHS England has an assurance mechanism in place to hold all non-compliant clinical commissioning groups to account and will continue to regularly monitor the effectiveness of its assurance processes. NHS England is developing an enhanced methodology to identify outliers to take account of variation that can be attributed to population-based factors. The Department published an updated National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and National Health Service-funded Nursing Care on 1 March 2018, to be implemented on 1 October 2018. The update incorporates a new structure that is intended to provide greater clarity and help reduce variation in its application.

Social Services: Elderly

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the conclusions and recommendations of the Age UK report entitled Why call it care when nobody cares?, published in March 2018.

Caroline Dinenage: The Age UK report raises important issues about the quality and funding of social care services. In this spending review the Government has taken steps to give local authorities access to significant amounts of funding exclusively for social care. We introduced the precept, allowing local authorities to raise additional funding to be dedicated to social care, and at the 2017 Spring Budget provided an additional £2 billion over three years for local authorities to increase access to care; relieve pressure on National Health Service services and support the social care market. We recently announced a further £150 million Adult Social Care Support Grant in 2018/19. The Government has given councils access to up to £9.4 billion more dedicated funding for social care over three years. Although 81% of adult social care providers are rated as good or outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (as at March 2018), it is completely unacceptable that standards in some settings fall below those rightly expected by care users and their families. That is why the Care Act 2014 placed a new duty on councils to offer a meaningful choice of services, so that people have a range of high quality, appropriate care options to choose from and that they get the services that best meet their needs. Over the last three years, around 65% of service users were extremely or very satisfied with their care and support in England. An ageing society means that we need to reach a longer-term sustainable settlement for social care. This is why the Government has committed to publishing a green paper by summer 2018 setting out its proposals for the reform of care and support for older people. In developing the Green Paper, it is right that we take the time needed to debate the many complex issues and listen to the perspectives of experts and care users, building consensus around reforms which can succeed. Building a sustainable care and support system will require some big decisions. But getting this right promises a better system that everyone can have confidence in, where people understand their responsibilities, can prepare for the future, and know that the care they receive will be to a high standard and help them maintain their independence and well-being.

Mental Health Services; Out of Area Treatment

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 March 2018 to Question 134184, whether his Department has plans to start collecting data on the number of children sent out of area to receive mental health treatment.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The collection of data on the number of children sent out of area to receive in-patient care is a vital aspect of the work NHS England is undertaking on redistributing the provision of child and adolescent mental health services Tier 4 beds to ensure improved local access and strengthened local patient pathways. There are routine referrals out of area for in-patient care where this falls within agreed clinical and geographical flows – for example, to access a more specialised service that is not available in every area. Given the need for clarity about what constitutes an out of area placement, determining the method of data collection is in its early stages. The intention is to set out a clear plan for implementing these data collection arrangements in the next three months. This work will also consider the potential data collection arrangements for children referred out of area for specialist community services.

Diabetes

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of the soft drinks industry levy on diabetics who may regularly buy drinks that are high in sugar.

Steve Brine: There has been no central assessment of the effect of the soft drinks industry levy on diabetics. Whilst we recognise soft drinks with high levels of added sugar may have a role to play in raising blood glucose levels for people living with type 1 diabetes, this must be balanced against the need to protect the nation’s children from other serious conditions and diseases linked to high consumption of sugar including obesity and tooth decay.

Social Services: Minimum Wage

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the studies from Deloitte, Frontier Economics and LaingBuisson on the effect of sleep-in back payments on the social care sector will (a) include and (b) publish information on the financial impact for the Brighton and Hove Council area.

Caroline Dinenage: The Deloitte and Frontier Economics and LaingBuisson studies into sleep-in back pay liabilities form part of the evidence base that is being used to assess options and are subject to further analysis and refinement. Consequently, we currently have no plans to share a summary of either report.

European Medicines Agency

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the UK will remain a member of the European Medicines Agency during the implementation period after the UK leaves the EU.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency being excluded from the European Medicines Agency during the implementation period after the UK leaves the EU.

Jackie Doyle-Price: During the implementation period, the United Kingdom will no longer be a Member State of the European Union, but market access will continue on current terms. It will be in the interests of both sides for the UK to participate in some EU bodies and agencies, including the European Medicines Agency, during the implementation period - and the agreement we have reached allows for this. The UK is fully committed to continuing the close working relationship with our European partners. As my Rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minister outlined in her Mansion House speech, we will want to make sure our regulators continue to work together and the UK is keen to explore with the EU the terms on which the UK could remain part of EU agencies that are critical for medicines and other industries after the implementation period. Our aim is to ensure that patients in the UK and across the EU continue to be able to access the best and most innovative medicines and be assured that their safety is protected through the strongest regulatory framework and sharing of data.

Department for Work and Pensions

Working Conditions

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of trends in the level businesses terminating employment contracts temporarily during building work in those businesses.

Alok Sharma: Information on businesses terminating employment contracts temporarily during building work is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment support allowance appeals have been held in the last three years at which from her Department was not represented.

Sarah Newton: No. ESA Disposals1No. ESA Hearing Disposals2No. ESA cases Presenting Officer (PO) attended 31 April 2014 - 31 March 201567,99660,3271,2051 April 2015 - 31 March 201656,00349,9791,1321 April 2016 - 31 March 201772,91765,7231,4281 April 2017 - 31 December 2017P60,74853,23713,347  1. Disposals denotes the total number of Appeals disposed of and is inclusive of both those cleared at hearing and those cleared without the need of a tribunalThe total cleared at hearing may include some withdrawals. Thus, it is not the total of those decisions in favour and those upheld.The number of ESA appeals a PO was in attendance. P Provisional data subject to change. Latest data available in line with published data.

Employment and Support Allowance

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what length of time her Department retains records relating to employment support allowance claims.

Sarah Newton: DWP retains documentation in line with the Data Protection Act, as such, generally records classified as supporting the ESA claim are retained for 14 months after DWP’s live interest in the claim has ended. Ephemeral records are retained locally for 4 weeks and then destroyed. There are however exceptions to this where records may be retained for longer than 14 months. Examples include (but are not limited to):•Fraud•Overpayments including: civil proceedings and Recovery from Estates•Debt Management including: Compensation Recovery•Appeals including: Mandatory Reconsiderations where the case is outstanding with Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS)•Customer feedback or complaints being dealt with by Independent Case Examiner (ICE) cases & Parliamentary Health and Service Ombudsman (PHSO) Cases only.•Criminal Cases Review Commission cases

Universal Credit

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will set out the service delivery standards for universal support.

Alok Sharma: DWP asks local authorities to measure the take-up of Universal Support provision. The guidance, which sets out our expectations around Universal Support, was sent to Local Authorities with their grant-funding offer. The guidance is also published online and can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-universal-support-201819-guidance

Support for Mortgage Interest

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of households affected by the replacement of Support for Mortgage Interest with a new loan were still to be informed of that change by Serco as of 31 March 2018.

Kit Malthouse: By 31st March everyone receiving Support for Mortgage Interest had been sent a letter informing them of the change to the new loan system.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of families whose benefit entitlement exceeds the benefit cap as a result of looking after children under child arrangements orders.

Kit Malthouse: We do not hold any data that identifies families with a child under child arrangements order. The lower cap is still the equivalent of gross family earnings of £25k, and £29k in London. Where claimants need further financial support, Local Authorities can provide additional support through the use of Discretionary Housing Payments. The funding for DHPs is specifically aimed at a number of groups who are likely to be particularly affected by the benefit cap. These include people with family and friend care responsibilities.

Social Security Benefits: Children

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of exempting children under child arrangement orders from the benefit cap.

Kit Malthouse: The Government acknowledges the immense value of care given by family and friend carers, who look after children whose parents are unable to provide the necessary care themselves. This was discussed during the passage of the Work and Welfare Reform Act 2016. Family and friend carers are able to receive support for the children in their care through the benefit system as they have access to child benefit and child tax credit on the same basis as parents. A cap at £23,000 in Greater London is equivalent to gross family earnings of around £29,000. A cap at £20,000 in the rest of GB is equivalent to gross family earnings of around £25,000If we are to treat family and friend carers in the same way as parents for the other facets of the benefits system then it is right that the benefit cap principles should apply in the same way for family and friend carers as they do for parents. Where claimants need further financial support, Local Authorities can provide additional support through the use of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs). The funding for DHPs is specifically aimed at a number of groups who are likely to be particularly affected by the benefit cap. These include people with family and friend care responsibilities.

Support for Mortgage Interest: Scotland

Danielle Rowley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any people in Scotland have been refused a Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loan since the conversion of SMI from a benefit to a loan.

Kit Malthouse: The eligibility criteria for Support for Mortgage Interest have not be altered as a result of the move to the new system of loans. All existing claimants will be offered a SMI loan paid at the same rate that is currently available as part of their benefit entitlement.

Employment: Discrimination

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress the Government has made on reducing the extent of employer discrimination against people with (a) criminal records and (b) mental health problems.

Kit Malthouse: The Government has taken action to reduce the extent of employer discrimination against people with (a) criminal records and (b) mental health problems in the following ways:My department leads the cross-Government campaign ‘Disability Confident’ which supports businesses to employ disabled people and the ‘See Potential’ campaign which actively encourages employers to recruit individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, including ex-offenders. See Potential champions employers which recognise individuals’ talents from different backgrounds and offers advice on adopting more inclusive recruitment practices. More than 150 organisations support the campaign. The Disability Confident scheme has over 6,000 employers signed up and works collaboratively with prominent business leaders to spread and share best practise. Government also continues to support ‘Ban the Box’, an initiative run by Business in the Community (BITC). This initiative gives people with criminal convictions the opportunity to demonstrate relevant skills ahead of formally disclosing any conviction(s). So far 87 employers (including the Civil Service), covering more than 720,000 roles, have committed to adopting the Ban the Box scheme. Furthermore Thriving at Work: the Stevenson/Farmer Review of Mental Health and Employers, published in October 2017, set out the business case for employers to support their staff’s mental health. The Government supports the review’s recommendations and encourages all employers to implement the core mental health standards set out in the Review.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times her Department has requested a Statement of Reason from a tribunal after a tribunal has ruled in a personal independence payment claimant’s favour.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment tribunal decisions that have ruled in favour of the claimant have subsequently been appealed by her Department; and what the outcomes of those appeals have been.

Sarah Newton: Since its introduction, the Department has appealed 283 cases of Personal Independence Payment where a Tribunal has ruled in favour of the claimant. Following appeal in twenty five of these cases the claimant was successful; in 202 cases DWP was successful and in 56 cases we are still awaiting an outcome.

Personal Independence Payment: Epilepsy

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many personal independence payment claimants with a primary condition of epilepsy who were awarded such payments after a tribunal ruling have (a) had a Statement of Reason requested by her Department, (b) had their tribunal decision appealed by her Department and (c) seen their award (i) decreased or (ii) removed as a result.

Sarah Newton: The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2018 to Question 133807, on Universal Credit, by what means his Department determines how much of a claimant's income has been or will be invested in a personal or occupational pension.

Alok Sharma: For claimants accruing an entitlement to an occupational pension, the claimant’s pension contributions are included in Real Time Information data supplied by HMRC, and earnings are reported net of pension saving. With a personal pension, the claimant can self-declare those contributions, which then reduces the level of earnings taken into account.

Employment and Support Allowance: Telephone Services

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department's phone number for employment support allowance related queries will be changed to a freephone number.

Sarah Newton: The telephone number for Employment Support Allowance related queries was changed to a Freephone number on 7 December 2017.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect of the increase in the state pension age for women on the entitlement to pension credit of men who are (a) married to and (b) live with those women.

Guy Opperman: The minimum qualifying age for Pension Credit is linked to women’s State Pension age for both men and women. Until November 2018, when men’s and women’s State Pension ages will be equalised, a man may qualify for Pension Credit before his own State Pension age. In couple cases, the income and capital of both members is taken into account. Accordingly, in a couple case where the man is the claimant, the availability of the female partner’s State Pension may be a factor in determining entitlement, depending on what other income they have.

Department for Work and Pensions: Members' Constituency Work

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of  constituency enquiries by hon Members to the Complaints Resolution Team were not resolved within 15 working days.

Kit Malthouse: The Department has a 15 working day target for enquiries and complaints received from Members of Parliament. The achievement for 17/18 operational year for the Department is: MP complaints & enquiries receivedCleared outside of 15 working daysPercentage2041615037.4%

Pension Credit

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people whose income has increased above the standard minimum guarantee threshold for pension credit as a result of the April 2018 state pension increase.

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support vulnerable people who will become ineligible for pension credit and other passported benefits as a result of the April 2018 state pension increase taking their income above the standard minimum guarantee threshold for pension credit.

Guy Opperman: In April 2018 there was above indexation increase in the standard minimum guarantee of Pension Credit, to match the cash increase in the basic State Pension. This prevents the increase in the basic State Pension (in isolation) from taking people out of the scope of Pension Credit, excluding the impact of any other changes in circumstances. The full rate of the new State Pension is set each year above the level of the basic means test in Pension Credit, reducing reliance on means testing over time and providing a firm foundation on which to build private pension provision.

UK Men's Shed Association

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what service level agreements her Department has entered into with the UK Men's Sheds Association.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not have a national service level agreement with the UK Men’s Sheds Association. We do not routinely record this data at site level and the information could only be provided at disproportionate costs.

Department for Work and Pensions: Members' Constituency Work

Marion Fellows: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will undertake a review of her Department's policy to only recognise implicit consent to act on peoples' behalf from MPs and their offices; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending that recognition further to (a) welfare rights groups (b) and Citizens Advice.

Alok Sharma: The online digital account, which is fundamental to the design of the full service, allows claimants access to all their personal, medical, financial and other data. As a result, the claimant ‘holds the key’ to that account at all times. Running a system of implied consent means that the risk of disclosure of this material to third parties is heightened beyond an acceptable level under data protection rules and might also undermine some of the other security features we build into the system through personal accreditation. Claimants can now provide explicit consent by making an entry in their journal.

Housing Benefit: Young People

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pension, what estimate she has made of the cost incurred by (a) Jobcentre Plus, (b) her Department and (c) any other public agency in the preparation for the roll-out of the now aborted cut to housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.

Kit Malthouse: The preparation costs associated with the removal of the automatic eligibility of 18 to 21 year olds to claim universal credit for housing costs are estimated to be £5 million.

Home Office

Passports: Fees and Charges

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the planned increase of passport fees will be used to pay for anything additional to the cost of issuing passports and consular support for British nationals abroad.

Caroline Nokes: I refer the Hon. Member to the recent announcement on the planned increase of passport fees, which can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-office-proposes-changes-to-passport-application-fees

Females: Domestic Violence

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the affordability of access to justice for women escaping domestic abuse; and if she will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is clear that victims of domestic abuse must have the help that they need to access justice. We have already taken steps to widen the scope of evidence required to access legal aid, and on 8 March the Home Secretary and Justice Secretary launched the Government’s consultation to transform the response to domestic abuse, seeking views on a range of legislative and non-legislative options to ensure victims are afforded the greatest possible protection. In addition, the Home Secretary chairs the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter Ministerial Group, which brings Ministers from across Government to drive work across departments in this area.

Immigration: Appeals

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2018 to Question 121751, on immigration: appeals, how many initial decisions are (a) not appealed and (b) overturned on appeal; and what the cost of unsuccessful appeals has been to the public purse in each year since 2015.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office published data on initial decisions can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-october-to-december-2017 while Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service data on appeals can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2017Information on the cost to the Home Office of unsuccessful appeals in each year since 2015 is not centrally held and can only be provided at disproportionate cost through the examination of individual case records.

Passports: Contracts

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether UK companies were able to bid for the contracts to manufacture (a) Dutch and (b) French passports.

Caroline Nokes: It is not the responsibility of the Home Office to collect data relating to passport manufacture contracts for other nations.

Human Trafficking: Children

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure the identification of victims of human trafficking among (a) migrant and (b) asylum seeking children.

Victoria Atkins: The Government takes the issue of safeguarding all children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and migrant children, extremely seriously and we remain committed to working with all partners to safeguard vulnerable children. Last year the Home Office worked with the Department for Education in the development of the Safeguarding Strategy for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children. The strategy, which was published in November 2017, sets out a range of actions the Government will undertake to safeguard and promote the welfare of unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children to ensure they have access to the care, services and support they require. A link to the strategy is below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safeguarding-unaccompanied-asylum-seeking-and-refugee-children The Home Office also contributed to the revised Care of Unaccompanied Migrant Children and Child Victims of Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities. The guidance sets out the steps local authorities should take to plan for the provision of support for looked after children who are unaccompanied asylum seeking children, unaccompanied migrant children or child victims of modern slavery including trafficking. A link to the guidance is below:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-of-unaccompanied-and-trafficked-children.

Detention Centres and Police Custody: Death

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people died in (a) police custody and (b) immigration removal centres in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: Every death in police custody is a tragedy and this is a priority area for the Government. The Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody is currently undertaking a programme of work to find solutions to complex issues as highlighted in Dame Elish Angiolini’s Independent Review on Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody. The Ministerial co-chairs will report on progress in Autumn 2018.Official statistics of deaths in police custody are published annually by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). Available here: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/research-and-learning/statistics/annual-deaths-during-or-following-police-contact-statisticsThe number of deaths in immigration removal centres while held under immigration powers (IRCs) is a subset of published detention data (table dt_6) in the Home Office quarterly Immigration Statistics release. They are not released as part of immigration statistics. The latest data, published in ‘Immigration Statistics, October to December 2017’, is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/681703/detention-oct-dec-2017-tables.ods

Police Custody: Children and Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people of (a) 16 years old or under and (b) 17-18 years old presenting in a mental health crisis were detained in police custody for over four hours in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of persons specifically detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, including information on where the person is detained, and whether they are under 18 or aged 18 years and over. These data were collected on a mandatory basis for the first time in 2016/17, and are published as part of the ‘Police powers and procedures, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2017

Security Guards: Licensing

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Office, what criteria is used by the Security Industry Authority in respect of the re-issue of licences to door staff who have been acquitted in a court case.

Mr Nick Hurd: The criteria used by the Security Industry Authority to assess all licensing applications are set out in “Get Licensed” which can be found on the SIA Website - https://www.sia.homeoffice.gov.uk/Documents/licensing/sia_get_licensed.pdf. This includes checks on identity, qualifications, criminal history and right to work in the UK. Each application is dealt with and considered on its merit.

Human Trafficking: Fines

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of fines imposed for the smuggling of migrants were collected within (a) six months and (b) nine months of their imposition in 2017.

Caroline Nokes: People caught ‘smuggling migrants’ are prosecuted not fined. The total convictions of those involved in human smuggling during the calendar year of 2017 is 166.

Human Trafficking: Unpaid Fines

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many fines for the smuggling of migrants remain unpaid.

Caroline Nokes: People caught ‘smuggling migrants’ are prosecuted not fined.

Immigrants: Employment

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a business which did not use her Department's employer checking service when requested by a job applicant would be in breach of Home Office rules on recruitment and selection.

Caroline Nokes: The Immigration (Restrictions on Employment Order) 2007, as amended, specifies the steps employers should take in checking a job applicant’s right to work in order to prevent illegal working. In the majority of cases, an employer establishes a statutory excuse against a civil penalty under the Immigration Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 by examining a document presented by the job applicant from a list specified in the Order.In limited circumstances, where the job applicant has an outstanding immigration application, administrative review or appeal, the employer should confirm the person’s right to work by contacting the Home Office Employer Checking Service in order to comply with the Order. In these cases, the job applicant is unlikely to have a current and valid immigration document because their case is pending, but they may have a right to work by virtue of having submitted an in-time application, administrative review or appeal and this can be confirmed by the Home Office Employer Checking service.The Home Office has recently launched a new Digital Checking Service which enables the holder of a biometric residence permit and, with their consent, their prospective employer to view the holder’s current immigration status on-line. The digital service will provide employers with additional assurance when conducting right to work checks, but does not currently substitute the checks specified in the Order.

Members: Correspondence

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of 26 September 2017 from the hon. Member for Poplar and Limehouse on the case of Mrs Justina Ugisomi Saliu, the wife of Mr John Pattison.

Caroline Nokes: A response was sent to the hon. Member on 16 April.

Organised Crime: Drugs

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the National County Lines Co-ordination Centre to be fully operational.

Victoria Atkins: The National County Lines Co-ordination Centre is being established by the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead and the National Crime Agency. The Centre will be fully operational later this year subject to recruitment of staff.

Members: Correspondence

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of 28 March 2018 from the hon. Member for Croydon North a visa enquiry on behalf of a constituent.

Caroline Nokes: A response will be sent to the Hon. Member’s enquiry in line with the published service standard of responding within twenty working days.

Birth Certificates

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of recording the time of birth on birth certificates; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: Time of birth is currently recorded in cases of multiple live births in England and Wales. There are no current plans to review the detail collected and recorded in other live births.

Torture

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to (a) publish torture guidance protocols and (b) consult (i) human rights organisations and (ii) others on protocols and guidelines relating to the torture of detainees.

Caroline Nokes: The Government laid draft revised statutory guidance before Parliament on 21 March 2018, and the corresponding statutory instruments on 27 March, to implement a new definition of torture for the purposes of immigration detention. The new definition of torture and the revised statutory guidance give effect to a recent High Court judgment. Whilst there was no obligation to consult on these changes, officials have engaged with interested stakeholders. Officials will continue this engagement on the corresponding caseworker guidance and training. Additionally, the Detention Centre Rules 2001 will be reviewed later this year and NGOs will have an opportunity to comment on the draft then.

Knives: Crime

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review the guidance for police forces on recording and publishing statistics on knife crime to provide more specific figures than the force-wide level of knife crime.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office collects and publishes data from the police on the number of offences involving knives or sharp instruments at the police force area level. The Home Office carefully considers the burden on the police in supplying data against the need for centrally requested data on an annual basis. We are presently working with police forces on the level of information that is sent to the Home Office on offences involving knives. Individual police forces will hold data at a lower geographical level and it is up to individual forces to determine the level of detail they publish at.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letters of 16 February 2018 referenced M2579/18 and M2417/18 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire.

Victoria Atkins: A reply to M2579/18 was sent on 10 April 2018. A reply to M2417/18 will be provided in due course.

Slavery

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many modern slavery operations were led by Immigration Enforcement Crime teams in each of the past three years.

Caroline Nokes: The number of operations with the primary crime type was marked as modern slavery was as follows:2015/16: 312016/17: 422017/18: 24This data has been derived from local management information and is therefore subject to change.

Slavery

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential cases of modern slavery were encountered by Immigration Enforcement Compliance teams in each of the past three years.

Caroline Nokes: The number of operations referred to Criminal & Financial Investigation where the primary crime type was marked as modern slavery was as follows:2015/16: 482016/17: 612017/18: 38This data has been derived from local management information and is therefore subject to change.

Construction: Undocumented Workers

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential cases of people trafficking or modern slavery were identified during the course of Operation Magnify; and by which agencies such cases were identified.

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many potential cases of people trafficking or modern slavery identified during the course of Operation Magnify resulted in victims entering National Referral Mechanism support accommodation.

Caroline Nokes: The answer provided shows the number of Potential Victim of Trafficking (PVoT) cases that were accepted into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) following their identification during Op Magnify illegal working operations. (135423)   Answer: 85 PeriodNumber Arrests 2015-20166 2016-201751 2017-201828   The answer provided shows the number of Potential Victim of Trafficking (PVoT) cases identified during the Operation Magnify series of illegal working operations. None of these operations were carried out with other agencies in attendance. (135421)

Car Washes: Employment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority on exploitation of labour in the car wash industry.

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority on exploitation of labour in the nail bar industry.

Victoria Atkins: Home Office officials have been working closely with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) to consider measures to address hand car washes and nail bars, which fall outside of the sectors licensed by the GLAA, but have been identified as high risk for labour exploitation and modern slavery.The Director of Labour Market Enforcement has also been looking at enforcement in these sectors as part of his forthcoming labour market enforcement strategy and the Government looks forward to considering his recommendations.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of salary thresholds for work visas for non-EU nationals on NHS recruitment.

Caroline Nokes: The Tier 2 (General) minimum salary thresholds for overseas doctors were set following consultation with the independent Migration Advisory Committee and are based on pay scales published by the NHS – and have not been recently changed. The minimum salary for Tier 2 is £30,000 or £20,800 for new entrants, or the appropriate rate for the job, whichever is the higher. The minimum salary levels are based on the salary distribution for all positions in the UK. For experienced workers, this is set at the 25th percentile, the rate for new entrants be set at the 10th percentile Tier 2 salaries have remained at their current levels since April 2017.

Immigration

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Queen's Speech 2017, whether her Department plans to publish the Immigration Bill only when the negotiations with the EU are complete.

Caroline Nokes: The Immigration Bill will provide the legal structure needed to end free movement and implement the future immigration arrangements. The priority so far has been on negotiating the implementation period and on citizens’ rights. The Immigration Bill will be introduced when the Parliamentary timetable allows.

Companies: Ownership

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of Lord Ahmed of Wimbledon, of 17 January 2018, House of Lords Official Report, column 701, when the review of the exchange of notes between the UK government and the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies expected to be published by the end of March will be published; and what the reasons are for the time taken to publish that report.

Mr Ben Wallace: The review of the implementation of the arrangements with the relevant Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies is complete and will be published in due course.

Communications Act 2003: Prosecutions

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been prosecuted undersection 127 of the Communications Act 2003 for each year since 2013.

Mr Nick Hurd: Prosecution data from 2013-2016 (the latest data available) for S127 Communication Act 2003 is available on the gov.uk website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2016

Asylum: Appeals

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of successful asylum appeals since 2015.

Caroline Nokes: Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service data on appeals can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2017The Home Office reviews all allowed appeals to ensure that learning is used to inform decision making. These reviews show that appeals are allowed for a variety of reasons, often because of new evidence presented before the tribunal which was not available to the decision maker at the time.

Airguns: Licensing

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people responded to her Department's consultation on air weapon licensing of 1 December 2017 to 6 February 2018 raising concerns about the shooting of animals such as cats by such weapons.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government received over 50,000 representations from members of the public about the review of the regulation of air weapons, a significant proportion of which were concerned about the use of these weapons against animals such as cats. We are considering the representations that we received and will publish our findings in due course.

Visas

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much in total was invested in the UK under the Tier 1 Investor Visa scheme between 2008 and Q1 2015.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many politically exposed persons were successful under the Tier 1 Investor Visa scheme between 2008 and Q1 2015.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to carry out retrospective checks on people that were successful under the Tier 1 Investor Visa scheme between 2008 and Q1 2015 and the source or sources of wealth invested by those such people.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons her Department does not publish the names of people who are successful under the Tier 1 Investor Visa scheme.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of whether the funds invested under the Tier 1 Investor Visa scheme between 2008 and Q1 2015 remain in the UK financial system.

Caroline Nokes: The Tier 1 (Investor) immigration route is for high value non-EEA migrants seeking to make a substantial financial investment into the UK. Before 6 November 2014, the minimum required investment for entry to the route was £1 million per applicant, and since that date it has been £2 million per applicant. The Home Office does not record the information requested in a form which can be collated. Statistics on the number of individuals granted under the Tier 1 (Investor) route are published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-statistics.The Home Office has a duty to treat applicants’ information in confidence, and does not publish the names of successful applicants under any visa category. The Tier 1 (Investor) category is no different. As the Home Secretary said at the Home Affairs Select Committee on the 28th March 2018, we intend to review the Tier 1 (Investor) route to see that it is working as it should. This may include looking at some of those currently already in the route.

Home Office: Written Questions

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to Question 126030 tabled on 31 January 2018, and Question 128803 tabled on 21 February 2018  by the hon. Member for Manchester Gorton.

Caroline Nokes: Both UIN 126030 and UIN 128803 were responded to on the 18th April 2018.

Immigrants: Children

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children born in the UK are ineligible to access public funds as a result of their parents having no recourse to public funds.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many children in the UK are ineligible to access public funds a result of their parents having no recourse to public funds.

Caroline Nokes: Where recourse to public funds is not automatic, leave to remain in the UK is normally granted with a condition of No Recourse to Public Funds unless to prevent destitution. Children are normally granted the same conditions as their parent, however, data is not held on Home Office systems in a format that can be interrogated to report on the number of children born or currently living in the UK who have a no recourse to public funds condition applied to their grant of leave due to their parents.

Robbery: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of personal robberies in each London boroughs, in each of the last twelve months for which information is available.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office publishes Open Data Tables at the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) level, which includes London Boroughs, on a quarterly basis . Information on the number of personal robbery offences can be found in these tables, available here  https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables

Europol

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if the UK will remain a member of Europol during the implementation period for the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK will continue to participate in Europol and other EU Justice and Home Affairs agencies during the implementation period, including access to the databases and data sharing tools that go along with this.

Passports: Applications

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many online passport applications HM Passport Office has received in the last 12 months; and how many applications HM Passport Office has received (a) online and (b) via post (i) throughout the UK, (ii) in Scotland and (iii) in Glasgow North East Constituency in the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: I refer to the table below which provides the volume of applications Her Majesty’s Passport Office has received in the last 12 months. Please note these figures are for all UK applications.We are unable to provide data on the number of applications received from the Glasgow North East Constituency, Scotland or any geographical region within the UK, as the data could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Channel Volume Online throughout the UK2,142,734Via post throughout the UK3,957,012

Airguns

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when her Department plans to publish the results of its review into air weapons following the consultation that ran between 12 December 2017 and 6 February 2018.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government announced the review of the regulation of air weapons on 9 October. We received a large number of representations from interested parties and members of the public and we are now considering these carefully. We will publish our findings in due course.

British Nationality

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK citizens who have returned to the UK after living in territories claimed by ISIL have been stripped of their citizenship.

Mr Ben Wallace: Individuals who are of national security concern may be deprived of their citizenship on the basis that to do so would be conducive to the public good under section 40 subsection (4A) of the British Nationality Act 1981 and section 40 subsection (2) of that Act. The Government publishes statistics relating to the use of these powers on an annual basis. The figure for January 2015 to December 2015 can be found in the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers, published in February 2017: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdf The next HM Government Transparency Report is scheduled for publication in Spring 2018 and will detail the corresponding numbers for 2016 and 2017. For operational and national security reasons, I am unable to provide a further breakdown of this information, beyond what is already published.

Police: Cameras

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has plans to issue body worn video cameras to all (a) police officers and (b) detectives.

Mr Nick Hurd: The procurement and deployment of body worn video cameras is a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Officers.

Emergency Calls: Standards

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of response times to 999 calls in (a) Lincoln, (b) Lincolnshire and (c) the UK.

Mr Nick Hurd: The handling of 999 calls is an operational matter for the police. It is for elected Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables to decide how their force’s resources are deployed and how best to manage their communications with the public. In March 2018, as part of its annual effectiveness reports on all police forces in England and Wales, HMICFRS briefly assesses the police’s response to calls.The report for Lincolnshire can be found at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-effectiveness-2017-lincolnshire.pdf. (page 6)The national overview can be found at: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/peel-police-effectiveness-2017-1.pdf (pages 13-14, 48-49)

Northern Ireland Office

Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions she has had with the Attorney General of Northern Ireland on the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: Justice is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and should be overseen by a restored Executive at Stormont.

Treasury

Financial Services

Jim Shannon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the contribution of the discussion paper from the FCA published on Monday 12 March 2018 entitled Transforming culture in financing services to addressing the issues raised by failures in the banking and finance sector over the last 10-15 years.

John Glen: The Government welcomes the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent discussion paper, ‘Transforming Culture in Financial Services’. The Government has not made a formal assessment of this paper. However, Government will continue to engage with the financial regulators and industry to progress this important issue, including to consider the views raised in this paper. The Government has implemented a number of reforms since the financial crisis to improve conduct and encourage a more positive culture in the financial services sector, including through the introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime.

Bank Services: Misrepresentation

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA's) Final Notice on the mis-selling by Vanquis Bank of its repayment option plan, whether other banks are being investigated by the FCA for potentially mis-selling similar products.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is aware of any potential cases of banks mis-selling debt (a) waiver and (b) freeze products on a scale similar to that of Vanquis Bank.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) he and (b) the Financial Conduct Authority plan to investigate the potential mis-selling of debt waiver or debt freeze products by other banks similar to those produced by Vanquis Bank.

Kevin Hollinrake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Conduct Authority's Final Notice on Vanquis Bank, what assessment (a) he and (b) the FCA have made of the potential merits of updating the Financial Services Authority and Office of Fair Trading's 2013 joint guidance on the conduct of firms selling and administering payment protection products.

John Glen: This is an operational matter for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the regulator of consumer credit, who are operationally independent from Government. The questions have been passed on to the FCA. For legal and public interest reasons, the FCA do not generally disclose publicly whether or not they are taking action against a regulated firm, an insurer or an individual person. The FCA will reply directly to the honourable member by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Bank Services

Susan Elan Jones: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to promote community banking facilities.

John Glen: The Government is committed to creating the right regulatory environment that allows banks to enter and expand within the market, and serve customers and communities effectively. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority established the New Bank Start-up Unit to help prospective new banks enter the market and through the early days of authorisation. In addition, the Government created the Payment Systems Regulator to ensure all banks can access payment systems on fair and equal terms. The Government supports credit unions, which provide vital banking services to financially under-served communities. To help expand credit unions’ reach, at Autumn Budget 2017 the Government announced that where a credit union’s membership conditions are based on a local area, a credit union will be able to increase the number of potential members it can have from 2 to 3 million. The legislation to make this change was laid in November 2017 and comes into force in April 2018. The Government also supports the provision of over the counter banking services via the Post Office. 99% of banks’ personal and 95% of banks’ business customers are now able to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, and make balance enquiries at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. At Autumn Budget 2017, my predecessor wrote to the Post Office and UK Finance to ask them to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government looks forward to seeing both parties implement their plans for doing this over the year to come.

Financial Services: Technology

Adam Afriyie: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to encourage financial technology firms to relocate to the UK.

John Glen: The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK is the best place to start and grow a fintech business. The new Fintech Sector Strategy – launched by the Chancellor at the recent HM Treasury-organised International Fintech Conference – sets out the practical steps that have been, and will be, taken to support this commitment. For instance, the Strategy includes pilot schemes to help new fintech firms (and the financial services industry more widely) comply with regulations by building software which would automatically ensure they follow the rules, saving them time and money, and the creation of a set of industry standards which will enable fintech firms to more easily partner with existing banks. The Strategy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/692874/Fintech_Sector_Strategy_print.pdf

Electric Vehicles: Tax Allowances

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing tax incentives to support the take-up of electric vehicles.

Robert Jenrick: The government uses the tax system to encourage the purchase of cars with low carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) system works in a technology-neutral manner to encourage uptake of fuel efficient, low CO2 emitting models irrespective of whether they are fuelled by petrol, diesel or battery power. This means the very cleanest zero-emission cars – that also produce no air quality pollutants – pay nothing in the first year of registration. HM Treasury keeps transport taxes under review, as it does with all taxes, and if the Chancellor decides to make changes, he will announce them at fiscal events.

Credit: Regulation

Robert Halfon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to cap the maximum sum of money people can borrow from rent to own and doorstep lenders.

Robert Halfon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the rent-to-own and doorstep lending industry on how they target customers.

John Glen: The Government transferred the regulation of consumer credit to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2014 and has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers. This was demonstrated by the FCA announcement in October 2017 that BrightHouse, a rent-to-own firm, would pay over £14.8 million in redress to 249,000 customers in respect of agreements which may not have been affordable, and payments which should have been refunded. The Government has also given the FCA the power to cap the cost of all forms of credit, and the FCA can do so if it thinks it is necessary to protect consumers. The FCA’s review of the high-cost credit sector has identified concerns about the high costs of rent-to-own borrowing, as well as concerns about repeat borrowing and refinancing in the doorstep lending sector. The FCA has said that it will consult on proposed remedies in May 2018. Treasury ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel.

Financial Services: Education

Robert Halfon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to increase access to financial education for people on low incomes.

John Glen: Government policy on financial education and capability focuses on ensuring that people have the confidence and skills they need to successfully engage with their finances. To this end the Government established the Money Advice Service (MAS), which provides free-to-use financial guidance and coordinates the UK’s Financial Capability Strategy. This is a 10-year strategy which aims to gather evidence on the most effective interventions to improve people’s financial capability, and support and coordinate initiatives that are proven to work. As part of this strategy MAS will shortly publish plans to commission projects to help working age adults manage their money, which will include a focus on households on low incomes. The plans will also focus on the financial capability needs of children and young people at home, in school, and in community settings.Moving forward, the Government is legislating to merge the functions of MAS with those of The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) and Pension Wise, to create a Single Financial Guidance Body to simplify the existing public financial guidance landscape. The government’s commitment to improving people’s financial capability is reflected in the new body’s strategic function to develop and coordinate a national strategy to improve the financial capability of members of the public, which will build on and further progress MAS’s work.It is also particularly important that children and young adults receive financial education to help them shape their financial habits later in life. This is why financial literacy was made statutory within the national curriculum in England in 2014, as part of the curriculum for citizenship education for 11-16 year olds.

Treasury: Equality

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what training is provided to staff of his Department on conducting equality impact assessments.

Robert Jenrick: HMT pays due regard to the equality impacts of its policy decisions, in line with all legal requirements and the Government’s commitment to promoting equality. This includes using internal procedural requirements and support, including through training.

Revenue and Customs: Disclosure of Information

Gill Furniss: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC shares information on the amendment of tax returns or other taxation errors of non-UK citizens with UK Visas and Immigration.

Mel Stride: Any information held by HMRC in connection with its functions may be disclosed to parts of the Home Office for its immigration, nationality and customs functions which includes UK Visas and Immigration. UK Visas and Immigration can ask HMRC for information subject to relevant legislation and requirements detailed in a memorandum of understanding between them. HMRC does not proactively disclose information to UK Visas and Immigration on the amendment of tax returns or other taxation errors of non-UK citizens.

Non-domestic Rates: Equipment

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of removing from business rates (a) new investment in plant and machinery and (b) all plant and machinery.

Mel Stride: The government has carefully considered the case for removing plant and machinery (P&M). The vast majority of P&M is not rateable. For P&M that is rateable, delivering a change would be fiscally costly and operationally challenging. P&M such as sprinkler systems, lighting, and heating systems are integral features of property. To exclude them from the calculation of rateable values, one would need to determine the market rent of the building if it did not include these key integral features.

Tax Avoidance

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to his Department's policy paper, Autumn Budget 2017: government action to tackle tax avoidance, evasion, non-compliance and aggressive tax planning, published on 22 November 2017, if he will provide a list of the anti-avoidance measures the Government has introduced since 2010 which have raised an additional £160 billion in revenue; and how that figure of £160 billion was calculated.

Mel Stride: Since 2010, HMRC has secured and protected over £175 billion from tackling non-compliance - money that is available for government to spend that would not have been without the action that has been taken. This represents the cumulative total compliance yield which totalled over £160 billion from 2010-11 to 2016-17 inclusive, as set out in HMRC’s Annual Reports. The latest figure available is £175 billion which includes the first three quarters of 2017-18, as published online at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

Corporation Tax

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue accrued to the public purse through corporation tax in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: Corporation Tax liability and receipts information is published in the Corporation Tax National Statistics on www.gov.uk. The latest year for Corporation Tax (CT) liabilities is 2015-16, and for CT receipts is 2016-17. Corporation Tax liabilities information for 2016-17 will be published in September 2018. The first estimate of CT receipts in 2017-18 will be published on 24th April 2018 in the monthly HMRC tax & NIC receipts publication available on www.gov.uk.

LIBOR

Grant Shapps: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of progress on the ICE Benchmark Association project to reform the LIBOR Benchmark Methodology; whether the new system will be implemented across all panel banks; and what the communication strategy for that project is.

John Glen: Since the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) began regulating LIBOR in 2013, significant improvements have been made to the benchmark by its administrator, ICE Benchmark Administration, and the panel banks which submit contributions. However, given the low levels of activity in the underlying markets which LIBOR seeks to measure, it has been difficult to ensure that submissions to the benchmark are rooted in transaction data, which was a key reform highlighted in the 2014 Financial Stability Board report on Reforming Major Interest Rate Benchmarks. This is why the government is supporting a market led transition away from LIBOR towards near risk-free rates. Regulator convened working groups led by a cross section of market participants are making good progress towards achieving this aim.

Infrastructure

Clive Lewis: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make his policy to require the National Infrastructure Commission to analyse the distributional effect of different infrastructure options by geographical area, income group, gender, and ethnicity.

Robert Jenrick: The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has been established to provide impartial, expert advice, and make independent recommendations to the government on economic infrastructure. The NIC will deliver the first-ever National Infrastructure Assessment in the summer, taking a strategic view on the UK’s long-term infrastructure needs and how to meet them. The NIC’s recommendations must be aligned with their objectives of supporting sustainable economic growth across all regions of the UK, improving competitiveness, and improving quality of life. When producing its outputs, the NIC must include a transparent assessment of the impact on costs to businesses, consumers, government, public bodies and other end users of infrastructure that would arise from implementing the NIC’s recommendations. The government must respond formally to the NIC’s recommendations, stating clearly whether the government accepts or rejects these recommendations. When government policy is made, officials must consider and advise ministers on the impact on protected groups and promoting greater fairness for them.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

James Frith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much road tax was collected from vehicles owned by people living in (a) Bury North constituency, (b) Bury and (c) the North West in each of the last five years.

Robert Jenrick: Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is collected nationwide and since it is tied to where individuals choose to register their vehicles, there is no official methodology to identify the VED collected in any particular region.

Cryptocurrencies

Gavin Robinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to engage with the digital currency industry.

John Glen: As announced in the Fintech sector strategy in March, the government is establishing a Cryptoassets Taskforce to explore further the risks of cryptoassets and the potential benefits of the underlying distributed ledger technology in financial services, as well as to assess the future response of the appropriate authorities, including around regulation. The Task Force itself will be made up of the government and the financial regulators. The government welcomes and will take into consideration the views of the digital currency industry. As part of this work, officials have begun and will continue to engage with industry. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations are also published on a quarterly basis and are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2018 to Questions 130023, 130025, 130026, 130027, 130028, 130029 and 130030, what figure his Department uses for tax reliefs to estimate the cost to the Exchequer is negligible.

Mel Stride: In the “Estimated cost of minor tax reliefs” publication, figures are rounded to the nearest £5 million. Costs of less than £3 million are considered negligible for the figures used to answer Questions 130023, 130025, 130026, 130027, 130028, 130029 and 130030. The “Estimated cost of minor tax reliefs” publication can be accessed using the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/689452/Dec_17_Minor_Reliefs_Final_Revised.pdf

Revenue and Customs: ICT

David Linden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 119327, Revenue and Customs: ICT, whether HMRC remains on track to start migrating customers from the Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight system to the Customs Declaration Service system from August 2018.

Mel Stride: HMRC is on track to start migrating customers from the current Customs Handling of Import and Export Freight (CHIEF) system to the Customs Declaration Services (CDS) programmefrom August 2018. The CDS programme has delivered on all its critical milestone delivery dates.

Revenue and Customs: North West

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many staff were employed by HMRC at the Tax Credit Office in Preston as at 28 March 2018; and how many of those staff his Department (a) estimates will be employed at that Tax Credit Office by 1 January 2019 and (b) planned to offer redundancy to, make redundant or offer jobs at other HMRC offices in Lancashire, Merseyside or Greater Manchester to.

Elizabeth Truss: Around 1900 staff were employed by HMRC in Preston as at 28 March 2018. At this stage HMRC has not agreed the Preston staffing position for January 2019. HMRC will keep staff updated as plans evolve.

Children: Day Care

Sir Desmond Swayne: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total payments made by parents direct to childcare providers due to technical issues experienced with HMRC's online service for tax-free childcare.

Elizabeth Truss: The vast majority of parents have been able to apply for and use Tax-Free Childcare without difficulty. Where parents have missed out on the government top-up HMRC pay compensation to reimburse them.

Malawi: Double Taxation

David Linden: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timetable is for a new double taxation treaty with Malawi to be signed.

Mel Stride: I refer the Honourable member to my previous answer on this subject (Hansard reference 3735; 3736; 3737; 3738)To reiterate the previous answer, the text of a new double taxation treaty with Malawi was substantively agreed some time ago. However, in August 2016, Malawi raised some further points for consideration. My officials continue to discuss these points with their counterparts in Malawi. When that process is complete, and both countries are satisfied with the contents of the new treaty, it will be signed and published.

Treasury: Recruitment

Ben Lake: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what his Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.

Robert Jenrick: HM Treasury has already ‘banned the box’ and does not ask people whether they have previous convictions during job applications.

Prince Harry: Marriage

Tommy Sheppard: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cost to public purse of the wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Robert Jenrick: The Government has not made an assessment of the costs. The Sovereign Grant, which is paid annually to Her Majesty The Queen to support Her official duties, will not be used to fund the wedding. Thames Valley Police are responsible for the policing of the operation and it is open for them to submit an application to the Home Office for Special Grant funding.

PAYE

Stephen Timms: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2018 to Question 127398 on PAYE, whether the contract agreed by HMRC provides for routine reporting of real time information BACS hash volumes sent to HMRC.

Mel Stride: HMRC is not required to report BACS hash volumes.

Tax Yields

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the guidance his Department has issue to HMRC on the criteria for Future Revenue Benefit.

Mel Stride: Future Revenue Benefit is a component of compliance yield, which represents the additional revenue that is collected or protected as a result of HMRC compliance activity. HMRC are responsible for developing the methodology for measuring Future Revenue Benefit and this is described in further detail at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/537622/HMRCs_Compliance_Revenues-how_HMRC_will_change_how_it_reports_Future_Revenue_Benefit_web_.pdf

Customs

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of customs checks were cleared by HMRC within (a) 30 minutes, (b) one hour, (c) 90 minutes, (d) two hours and (e) three hours in each of the last 12 months.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs use a series of risk based controls to identify consignments which should be subject to scrutiny following submission of customs declarations. This minimises delays to legitimate trade and ensures the efficient use of resources whilst effectively protecting society and tax revenue. As interventions are designed to tackle non-compliance, customs control activity is sensitive and details are not publicised. Between March 2017 and March 2018, approximately 98% of consignments were cleared by customs within 30 minutes of being presented. Approximately 1% of the declarations were subject to further documentary scrutiny. HMRC endeavours to complete these checks within 2 hours (in the case of exportations, air traffic and roll-on roll-off ferries), and 3 hours (in the case of containerised maritime arrivals). HMRC met these targets in 96% of cases during the period. The remaining 1% of goods were either subject to physical controls, which will have delayed clearance by over 3 hours, or did not clear due to additional complications, such as being abandoned by the trader.

Tax Evasion: Prosecutions

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the success rate of HMRC has been in taking action through (a) court proceedings and (b) tax tribunals in each of the last 10 years.

Mel Stride: HMRC’s success rates in court proceedings and tax tribunals, for the years for which such information is available, are as follows:   2008-092009-102010-112011-122012-132013-142014-152015-162016-172017-18Tax TribunalsData not held71.0%*79.1%*68.0%*68.8%82.2%86.1%81.8%83.7%77.4%Courts†Data not heldData not heldData not held85.0%72.0%72.3%69.2%71.1%74.5%90.0%*First-tier Tribunal only†High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court These figures do not include criminal prosecutions brought by HMRC, since these are prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service. Please note that not all cases can be categorised as “wins or losses”for HMRC, and some cases may be counted multiple times as they are appealed up through the tribunals and courts.

Welfare Tax Credits

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Figure 8 of HMRC's Annual Report 2016-17, what methodology was used to assess the cost of providing personal tax credits and other reliefs at £30.5billion.

Mel Stride: Of the £30.5bn referred to in figure 13, page 42 of HMRC’s accounts, the majority (27.1bn) relates to personal tax credits (further details at page 190). The methodology for calculating Personal Tax credits expenditure considers three main elements;Actual expenditure arising from claimsAnticipated expenditure for claims not yet finalised; andAnticipated expenditure for doubtful or challenging debt recovery cases. The other significant element of the £30.5bn expenditure relates to Corporation tax reliefs (£3.4bn). These values are based on forecasts made at the Spring Budget 2017. The expenditure for other reliefs are based on their take up which is refined and analysed on an annual basis.

Revenue and Customs: Conditions of Employment

Anneliese Dodds: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to section 5.1 of HMRC's Annual Report 2016-17, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the low results for engagement amongst HMRC staff compared with other civil servants in other Departments.

Mel Stride: HMRC’s Employee Engagement Index (EEI) for the 2017 People Survey is 50%, 3% up from last year with increases in 8 of 9 themes measured in the survey, thus mirroring the overall Civil Service trend. The increase in our EEI to 50% places HMRC 11% away from the Civil Service benchmark 2017 of 61%. Of the top 3 themes with the strongest association with engagement in HMRC: ‘Leadership and Managing change’ increased by 5% points, to 39%, still 7% behind the Civil Service benchmark but an overall increase of 9% since 2015.‘My Manager’ increased by 3% scoring 70% equalling the CS benchmark.‘Pay and Benefits’ was the only theme that dropped, down 2% to 22%, some 8% off the benchmark figure – this mirrors the trend across the Civil Service. To put into context, HMRC is currently undergoing a substantial change programme ‘Building our Future’, which will rationalise our estate into 13 regional centres and better position ourselves to meet future demands and challenges. This includes several changes to the way people work in HMRC including the introduction of new technology and systems through ‘Making Tax Digital’ and different approaches to how HMRC investigates and identifies tax evaders through looking at how compliance activity will be done in the future. These changes impact on every employee in HMRC. Following the results publication in December our analytical community and business engagement leads have been looking at the data in greater detail and obtaining substantive feedback from our people through follow up workshops and focus groups.

Taxation: USA

Douglas Chapman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration on the requirement for dual UK and US citizens who reside and pay tax in the UK to also file tax returns in the US regardless of whether they pay tax there; and if he will make representations to the US Administration to remove this requirement.

Mel Stride: The Chancellor has had a range of meetings with the US administration including on matters of tax cooperation. The specific issue of non-resident taxation has been discussed by UK Treasury officials with their US counterparts on a number of occasions and will continue to be included in relevant dialogues with the US Treasury. However, it is for the US Government to determine US taxation policy.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps the Government is taking to reduce (a) regional and national oversight, (b) quality assurance, (c) evaluation (d) central marketing and (e) other non-core operational delivery costs for the National Citizen Service.

Tracey Crouch: NCS Trust is the independent delivery body for National Citizen Service and has responsibility for the activities listed. DCMS agrees the NCS Trust annual budget following a rigorous assessment of the Trust’s spending plans to ensure that the programme is managed efficiently and delivers value for money to the taxpayer.

Charities: Lobbying

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that charities have access to clear advice on the effect of the provisions of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.

Tracey Crouch: The changes made to the existing third party campaigning rules by the Transparency of Lobbying Act 2014 do not restrict charities’ freedom to campaign to further their charitable purposes in a non-partisan way, but instead make the political system more accountable. Charities can legitimately undertake a wide range of campaigning activities as part of their work. The Electoral Commission provides clear guidance for charities that may be considering campaigning in the run up to an election. Where there is significant spending on campaigning that could influence the election, the rules ensure that this is transparent.

Charities: Law

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with references to Technical Issues in Charity Law, published by the Law Commission in September 2017, whether he plans to take steps in response to the recommendations in that report.

Tracey Crouch: The Law Commission’s report, Technical Issues in Charity Law makes a number of recommendations for simplifying charity law. We are giving the report’s recommendations full consideration and will respond in due course. Primary Legislation would be required to implement many of the report’s recommendations, and the Charity Commission would need additional resources to update its systems and guidance.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government is going to meet its target date of April 2018 for moving the management of the National Citizen Service from a community interest company to a royal chartered public sector body.

Tracey Crouch: We are working closely with the National Citizen Service Trust on a plan for transition to a Royal Charter body, to make sure the move is completed quickly and smoothly, with as little disruption to the NCS programme as possible. A key step in the process is to appoint a new Chair. The appointment campaign for the new Chair role is currently live and due to close on the 25th April 2018.

National Citizen Service Trust

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on the recruitment of board members to the National Citizen Service Trust; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the time taken for that recruitment on the conversion of the trust to a royal charter body.

Tracey Crouch: We are currently in the process of recruiting a Chair and other non-executive board members for the National Citizen Service Trust Royal Charter body. The advert for the new Chair role is due to close on the 25th April 2018. In order for the new organisation to go live, the Chair and at least 8 non-executive Board members must have been appointed.

Broadband

Dr Paul Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of launching a new scheme, similar to Project Lightning, to ensure that more homes can provide usable broadband.

Margot James: The Department welcomes commercial investment in UK digital infrastructure such as Virgin Media’s Project Lightning and is working to encourage further investment through policies and funding. These include Business Rates Relief for fibre investment and the £200m Local Full Fibre Networks programme to fund locally-led projects that leverage commercial investment in full fibre broadband connections. For alternative network providers, £400 million of public funding has also been made available for fibre connectivity through the Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund, which will unlock approximately £1 billion of private investment. Looking further ahead, the Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review is currently assessing what market models can best support broadband infrastructure investment in different areas of the UK. The Government’s existing £1.7bn Broadband Delivery UK programme reached 95% of premises in December 2017 and is continuing with at least a further 2% likely to be achieved, ensuring that over 97% of premises in the UK can receive superfast broadband.

Broadband: Fees and Charges

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will ensure that the forthcoming Consumer Green Paper sets out provisions to ensure that broadband exit fees are charged at a rate that is fair to consumers.

Margot James: The Consumer Green Paper was published on 11 April. It seeks views on how to ensure that modern consumer markets work for all, both now and in the future, including in the telecoms sector. Government will consider the responses to the Consumer Green Paper and, working with independent regulators including Ofcom, will publish a response detailing how they plan to further protect customers. Currently, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 protect broadband consumers when they enter into contracts with a provider. Ofcom has the power to investigate communicate providers' compliance.

Voluntary Work

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the level of participation among businesses in enabling their staff to engage in full-time social action projects and the National Citizen Service.

Tracey Crouch: DCMS is carefully considering the recommendations made by the independent Review of Full Time Social Action by Young People, including the recommendation referencing Business in the Community. The Government will publish it’s response to the Review in due course. As the National Citizen Service is aimed at 16-17 year olds, the majority of participants are recruited via their schools or colleges. The NCS Trust aims to develop partnerships with employers so that employees can support NCS. For example, Santander UK provides opportunities for its staff to volunteer on the programme to share their knowledge and skills.

Voluntary Organisations

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many page views the online Civil Society Strategy consultation form has received since the start of that consultation.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many responses his Department has received in respect of its consultation paper, Civil Society Strategy, published in February 2018.

Tracey Crouch: Just over 1400 people have visited the platform so far. Around 130 responses have been submitted. The platform will be open until 22 May, with the majority of responses expected in the final weeks. The platform forms one part of a wider engagement exercise. Government is holding a series of workshops around the country, the first of which took place in Birmingham on 11 April. Officials are attending meetings of stakeholders networks to discuss the Strategy and we have published a toolkit to support groups to hold their own conversations and provide feedback.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Sales: Internet

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Consumer Affairs Act 2015 on the regulation of private sales online between private individuals.

Andrew Griffiths: The Consumer Rights Act provides protection for consumers when buying from traders and does not cover private sales online between private individuals. The Consumer Green Paper “modernising consumer markets” published on 11 April 2018 consulted on whether the legal framework for consumer-to-consumer transactions remains appropriate to promote consumer confidence. A copy of the Green Paper can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consumer-green-paper-modernising-consumer-markets.

Infant Foods: Bottles

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on the safety of propped bottle feeder products.

Andrew Griffiths: The NHS has issued guidance on bottle feeding and advises that a baby should never be left alone with a propped-up bottle as they may choke on the milk. The Department has not issued specific guidance to Local Authorities on the safety of propped bottle feeders. Propped bottle feeders are regulated under the General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR) 2005, which requires a product to be safe in normal or reasonably foreseeable use when placed on the market. Under the GPSR, manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure their products are safe before they are placed on the market, this includes providing appropriate advice about safe use.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to make it easier for people living in properties with shared responsibilities, such as blocks of flats, to access the grant support available for installing individual electric vehicle charging points.

Richard Harrington: The Government recognises that not being able to recharge at home can dissuade drivers form making the switch to electric. Government’s Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme supports eligible electric vehicle owners with up to £500 towards the costs of installing a chargepoint in domestic properties, including in blocks of flats. In addition, as announced in November 2017 in the Industrial Strategy, Building Regulations will be amended to ensure that cabling infrastructure is provided for chargepoints when new dwellings are built, to help future-proof new homes and avoid retrofitting costs. For those without off-street parking facilities, Government’s On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme also provides grant funding for local authorities towards the cost of installing on-street residential chargepoints for plug-in electric vehicles.

Business Premises

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information the Government holds on the proportion of UK businesses that (a) own their own premises and (b) rent their premises.

Andrew Griffiths: The Department does not hold this information for the entire UK business population. However, it is available for UK small and medium-sized enterprises (fewer than 250 employees), which account for over 99% of the total UK business population.In 2016, the distribution of business premises ownership for UK small and medium-sized enterprises was as follows: Ownership status of business premisesProportionRented from a private or commercial landlord43%Owned by business40%Leased12%Other4% Source: BEIS 2016 Longitudinal Small Business Survey

Merchant Shipping: Minimum Wage

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what assessment he has made of the changes required to the legislative framework to extend entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay to all merchant seafarers working on commercial vessels in UK territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what assessment he has made of the changes required to the legislative framework to (a) apply and (b) enforce entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay for all merchant seafarers working on commercial vessels in UK territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what assessment he has made of the changes required to his Department’s service level agreement with HMRC for national minimum wage enforcement to (a) apply and (b) enforce entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay to all merchant seafarers working on commercial vessels in UK territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.

Andrew Griffiths: The Department for Transport’s Maritime 2050: Call for evidence consultation document sought views on a long term maritime strategy. Under the ‘people’ theme the document aims to identify issues that are relevant to the nation’s needs on skills, training and employment in 2050. A legal working group has been considering the current application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to seafarers working in the UK and whether legislative changes are necessary. The Minister for Maritime has received recommendations from the group concerning the extension of the NMW and the Government is reviewing these proposals.

Disclosure of Information

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what incentives the Government provides for whistleblowers to come forward with information before an incident has occurred; and what steps he is taking to tackle the practice of penalising whistleblowers.

Andrew Griffiths: The Employment Rights Act 1996 provides employment protection for workers in all sectors who have blown the whistle. It enables them to seek redress if they are dismissed or suffer detriment at the hands of the employer because they have made a ‘protected disclosure’ about wrongdoing that they have witnessed at work. While workers can secure compensation at Employment Tribunal in these circumstances, the Government does not generally offer incentives for whistleblowers.

Disclosure of Information

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he had made of the merits of a US-style system for whistleblowing whereby whistleblowers are given incentives to come forward.

Andrew Griffiths: The Government considers that financial incentives for whistleblowers would be unlikely to increase the number of quality disclosures received and could have adverse consequences.

Natural Gas: Prices

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he last met with representatives of (a) British Gas and (b)  Ofgem to discuss future pricing policy.

Claire Perry: BEIS Ministers and officials meet stakeholders on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues. Current pricing policy is a commercial matter for individual companies.

Nuclear Power Stations: Construction

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made is of the (a) financial risks (b) liabilities to the public purse of the Government's new nuclear programme.

Richard Harrington: In September 2016 the Government signed a Contract for Difference with EDF and CGN to construct Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power plant in the UK in over 25 years. Under this agreement, the developers will bear the risk of constructing the plant in return for a guaranteed price of electricity once it starts generating. Decommissioning costs for the plant are paid for by the developer through the Funded Decommissioning Programme. The Department laid a minute on 21 October 2015 outlining the liabilities that would be incurred by entering in to the contracts for Hinkley Point C. The minute can be found at:http://qna.files.parliament.uk/qna-attachments/425357%5Coriginal%5C20151021%20Minute%20to%20Parliament%20HPC%20contingent%20liabilities.docx We continue to discuss with developers’ their proposals for wider new nuclear power stations.

Post Boxes

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many post boxes (a) have been removed from operation and (b) had their collection rates reduced since the Royal Mail was formally privatised.

Andrew Griffiths: This information is not held centrally. Decisions on the provision and operation of post boxes is a matter for Royal Mail, subject to fulfilment of any regulatory requirements set by Ofcom.

Directors: Disqualification

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people the Insolvency Service has disqualified from being directors of companies since 2010.

Andrew Griffiths: Between April 2010 and February 2018, 9,654 directors have been disqualified following investigation by, or with significant input from, the Insolvency Service. A full breakdown by year can be found on GOV.UK by searching ‘Insolvency Service Enforcement Outcomes’.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management: Paisley and Renfrewshire North

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120003, how many photovoltaics installations through Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems were undertaken in the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency.

Claire Perry: Since the start of the Green Deal, 272 photovoltaics installations were undertaken in the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency through Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management: Paisley and Renfrewshire North

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many households in Paisley and Renfrewshire have accessed green deal finance through Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems.

Claire Perry: Since the start of the Green Deal, 381 households in Paisley and Renfrewshire have accessed Green Deal finance through Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems. By constituency, this breaks down as 293 households in Paisley and Renfrewshire North and 88 households in Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

Home Energy and Lifestyle Management: Airdrie and Shotts

Neil Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 21 December 2017 to Question 120003 on Home Energy and Lifestyle Management, how many photovoltaics installations through Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems were undertaken in Airdrie and Shotts Constituency.

Claire Perry: Since the start of the Green Deal, 75 photovoltaics installations were undertaken in Airdrie and Shotts constituency through Green Deal plans provided by Home Energy Lifestyle Management Systems.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government Finance: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many councils have (a) requested and (b) received funding from the public purse for urgent fire safety work after the Grenfell Tower fire.

Dominic Raab: Local authorities will need to fund the costs of fire safety work in their own buildings. However, there may be circumstances where Government would consider the removal of financial restrictions to enable works to go ahead.41 local authorities have contacted MHCLG regarding fire safety in buildings which they own. 14 of these authorities had identified buildings which required essential works and we have asked them to provide more detailed information. So far, five authorities have provided this information and officials are working with them on their requests. We are still in constructive dialogue with these local authorities and these discussions have not yet concluded. We expect local authorities to have put in place interim measures to ensure resident safety in the meantime.If a local authority building owner considers any of their buildings to be unsafe, they will need to determine what measures are essential to make each building safe. This will need to be done as part of a whole fire safety strategy for each individual building, taking into account expert advice, any directions or advice from the local fire and rescue service, and other fire safety measures present.

Secure Tenancies

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to give councils the flexibility to retain secure tenancies as standard in local tenancy strategies within the regulations under the Housing and Planning Act 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We have introduced fixed term tenancies for new council tenancies to ensure we get the best use out of our social housing stock and focus this valuable resource on those who need it the most for as long as they need it.The Secure Tenancies (Victims of Domestic Abuse) Bill will ensure that existing lifetime tenants who need to move to escape domestic abuse and are rehoused by a local authority are granted a further lifetime tenancy in their new social home.We will set out the circumstances in which local authorities will have discretion to continue to grant lifetime tenancies in regulations

Planning Permission

James Frith: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his Answer of 26 March  to Question 133676, how he proposes to take forward the garden city principles, other than those of design, now that those principles will no longer be included in the National Planning Policy Framework.

Dominic Raab: The consultation on draft changes to the National Planning Policy Framework closes on 10 May. Following this, we will consider whether further amendments are needed in the light of the comments received, including those relating to garden city principles.

Homelessness: Milton Keynes

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what applications he has received from Milton Keynes Council for funding for (a) homelessness and (b) rough-sleeping projects since May 2014.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Department’s £50 million Homeless Prevention Programme comprises of thee funds:£20 million to establish a network of 28 ambitious Homelessness Prevention Trailblazer areas;£20 million rough sleeping grant fund for 48 projects providing targeted prevention and early intervention for those at imminent risk of sleeping rough; and£10 million for 8 Social Impact Bond projects to provide personalised support for long-term rough sleepers.Milton Keynes submitted bids for all three funds. In response to their cross-authority bid with Luton and Bedford for Rough Sleeping Grant funding, they were awarded £624,000.

Telecommunications: Taxation

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the revenue accrued to the public purse from Fibre Tax in each tax year since 2010.

Rishi Sunak: The Department does not hold information about business rates yield by type of property.

Leasehold: Ground Rent

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to Written Statement of 21 December 2017 on Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, HCWS384, what progress he has made on the actions outlined in that Statement; and whether a review of estate charges will be part of this work.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for leaseholders and freeholders.The written statement on 21 December 2017 (HCWS384) set out a package of measures to crack down on unfair leasehold practices. This includes introducing legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows to prohibit the development of new build leasehold houses, other than in exceptional circumstances; restricting ground rents in newly established leases of houses and flats to a peppercorn; and working with the Law Commission to support existing leaseholders, including making buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper and reinvigorating commonhold to provide greater choice for consumers.As part of bringing forward legislation we have been, and will continue to, work with stakeholders from across the sector to ensure the best outcomes for consumers as well as considering the case for exemptions to prevent adverse impacts upon new much needed supply. The Law Commission has commenced work on enfranchisement and commonhold reform, including launching an 8 week commonhold call for evidence on 22 February.On 1 April, the Government published its response to the recent call for evidence, Protecting consumers in the letting and managing agent market. This sets out proposals for a new regulatory approach for letting and managing agents. We will establish a Working Group to take forward this work and will also ask the Working Group to look at fees and charges affecting both leaseholders and freeholders and consider under what circumstances they are justified and if they should be capped or banned.

Planning Permission

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many Section 215 (Town and Country Planning Act 1990) notices have been issued by local authorities in the past year; and what proportion of those notices resulted in successful (a) remedial action and (b) direct action for non-compliance.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: Local authorities have a discretionary power under Section 215 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1980 to deal with derelict land and buildings. This information is not collected centrally.

Housing: Prices

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will place a copy of any unpublished evidence held by his Department on the effect of immigration on house prices in the Library of the House of Commons.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of immigration on house prices.

Dominic Raab: As part of exploratory analysis into the determinants of house prices, the Department published the relevant analysis on 13 April and it is available here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/analysis-of-the-determinants-of-house-price-changes.I will place a copy in the Library of both houses.

Garden Communities: Ebbsfleet

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many affordable homes have been built as part of Ebbsfleet Garden City; and how many of those home are for (a) social rent, (b) shared ownership, (c) affordable rent and (d) other affordable housing.

Dominic Raab: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Affordable Housing

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to close legal loopholes that allow housing developers to avoid meeting quotas on affordable housing.

Dominic Raab: In March, the Government published a draft revised National Planning Policy Framework for consultation which sets out a new approach to viability. Our proposals place greater focus on viability assessments at the plan making rather than planning application stage, ensuring that local plans set clearer policy requirements for affordable housing. The proposed changes will also enable communities to hold developers to account by setting an expectation that all viability assessments should be publicly available.

Ministry of Defence

Syria: Military Intervention

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military airstrikes were carried out by the RAF in Syria in ach month between March 2017 and March 2018.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Army: Vehicles

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress had been made on the Multi Role Vehicle (Protected) Group (a) 1 and (b) 2 contracts.

Guto Bebb: The Multi-Role Vehicle - Protected (MRV-P) programme is being delivered in two packages. For package 1, the Command, Liaison and Logistics vehicles, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle manufactured in the United States by Oshkosh has been identified as the preferred option, with the US Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales acceptance letters expected to be signed shortly. Package 2 will provide the Troop Carrying Vehicles and Future Protected Battlefield Ambulance, and is currently the subject of an ongoing competition, with a decision expected in early 2019.

European Fighter Aircraft

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress has been made on Project Centurion; and if he will make a statement.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

AWACS

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2018 to Question 132489, on AWACS, whether he plans to assess the effect on the UK defence industrial base of agreeing a foreign military sale in respect of awarding a contract for the RAF's airborne early warning aircraft; and if he will make a statement.

Guto Bebb: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timetable is for a Main Gate decision to be made on the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme.

Guto Bebb: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS619) released on 16 April 2018.



Mechanised Infantry Vehicle
(Word Document, 22.55 KB)

Porton Down: Chemical Weapons

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release, Defence Secretary boosts Britain's chemical defence capability as threat intensifies, published on 15 March 2018, how much of the £48m investment in a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre is for (a) capital and (b) revenue spending.

Guto Bebb: The £48 million is the construction cost of the Chemical Weapons Defence Centre and will all be classified as capital expenditure.

Scotland Office

Social Rented Housing: Glasgow North East

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what information his Department holds on the (a) amount of social housing stock there was in Glasgow North East constituency in each year from 1999 to date and (b) projected amount of social housing stock in that constituency for each year to 2020.

David Mundell: The provision of social housing is a matter for the Scottish Government and published data can be found on the following link:http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Housing-Regeneration/HSfS/KeyInfoTables

Sovereignty: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many of his Department's social media campaigns have used the audience targeting filter, Exclude: Interests: Scottish independence since 2010.

David Mundell: One.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland,  which of his Department's social media campaigns used the audience targeting filter, Exclude: Interests: Scottish independence since 2010.

David Mundell: The “Scotland’s trade” campaign in 2017.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on social media campaigns which used the audience targeting filter, Exclude: Interests: Scottish independence since 2010.

David Mundell: The specific campaign spend is commercially sensitive. Digital activity, including social media campaigns, are funded through the Scotland Office programme budget. This is published in the annual report and accounts.

Scotland Office: Official Hospitality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on hospitality in each of the last eight years.

David Mundell: I refer the honourable Member to the answer given to the honourable Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on 2 February 2018 (UIN 124718).

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Senior Civil Servants

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the annual salary is of the Director General for Exports.

Greg Hands: The Director General, Exports vacancy was advertised at Senior Civil Servant Pay Band 3, and the salary will be in line with that advertised, of up to £140,000. Once in post their annual salary details will be published in due course on gov.uk as part of the department's transparency return. The transparency return will next be published in May 2018.

Export Controls

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many applications to the (a) Export Control Joint Unit and (b) Export Control Organisation which were referred up to ministerial level were (a) approved and (b) denied for each and every year from year since 2010.

Graham Stuart: We do not hold a central record of the licence applications referred to Ministers.

Israel: Arms Trade

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many UK arms export licenses have been granted to Israel in each of the last five years.

Graham Stuart: The following numbers of licences to Israel have been granted for military rated goods for each of the last five years: 2013 - 180 licences2014 - 150 licences2015 - 181 licences2016 - 192 licences2017 - 169 licences

Arms Trade: Exports

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how may export licences for (a) arms and (b) dual use goods have been denied under criterion 8 of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria; and if he will publish the names of the countries from which each denied licence application came.

Graham Stuart: The Government publishes Official Statistics (on a quarterly and annual basis) of licences granted and refused for military exports on GOV.UK and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/strategic-export-controls-licensing-dataIn the last ten years one licence has been refused under criterion 8 of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria.The licence application in question was submitted by an UK exporter and was refused in 2010. The intended destination of the goods was Sierra Leone.

Department for International Trade: Staff

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many employees in his Department are working on the (a) promotion of arms exports and (b) control of arms exports.

Graham Stuart: Within the Department for International Trade, the Defence and Security Organisation (DIT DSO) helps the UK defence and security industries to export. The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), which is a joint unit of DIT, FCO and MOD, administers the UK's system of export controls. DIT DSO currently has a total of 120 staff. The ECJU currently has a total of 96 staff.

UK Trade With EU

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2018 to Question 133617 on UK Trade With EU, how many of the third countries have (a) agreed to  continue their obligations mutatis mutandis  and (b) proposed changes to their agreements which would take effect at any later date.

Greg Hands: The Government's priority is securing continuity for our existing international agreements, including EU trade agreements, as we leave the EU.The agreement reached between the UK and the EU at the March European Council sets out that the UK is to be treated as a Member State for the purposes of its international agreements during the Implementation Period.We are also engaging with partner countries on individual trade agreements, which will come into force following the Implementation Period and will lay the foundations for deeper future relationships. None of the over 70 nations with which we have held discussions have any interest in disrupting trade flows, or erecting barriers where none currently exist.

Women and Equalities

Equal Pay

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her policy is on salary equality between male and female staff carrying out the same role.

Victoria Atkins: Paying men and women unequally for the same work has been unlawful for nearly 50 years. Employees who are concerned that they may not be being paid fairly can seek authoritative and free advice from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas), before deciding whether to bring a claim before an Employment Tribunal. Where an employer is found to have breached equal pay law, an Employment Tribunal can order them to carry out an equal pay audit. Our requirement for all larger employers to publish their gender pay gap will help increase transparency of all the factors underlying the endemic differences in pay between men and women.

Department for Transport

Merchant Shipping: Minimum Wage

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what assessment he has made of the changes required to the legislative framework to extend entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay to all merchant seafarers working in territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Maritime 2050: Call for evidence consultation document sought views on a long term maritime strategy. Under the ‘people’ theme the document aims to identify the most viable UK position that meets the nation’s needs on skills, training and employment in 2050. A legal working group has been considering the current application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to seafarers working in the UK and whether legislative changes are necessary. The Minister for Maritime has received recommendations from the group concerning the extension of the NMW and the Government is considering these recommendations.

Merchant Shipping: Minimum Wage

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what the timetable is for making the changes required to the legislative framework to extend entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay to all merchant seafarers working in territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Maritime 2050: Call for evidence consultation document sought views on a long term maritime strategy. Under the ‘people’ theme the document aims to identify the most viable UK position that meets the nation’s needs on skills, training and employment in 2050. A legal working group has been considering the current application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to seafarers working in the UK and whether legislative changes are necessary. The Minister for Maritime has received recommendations from the group concerning the extension of the NMW and the Government is considering these recommendations.

Large Goods Vehicles: Weight Limits

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on the Mobile Concrete Batching Plant industry of the announcement made by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 5 April 2018 on operating weight arrangements for Volumetric Concrete Mixers.

Jesse Norman: The announcement on 5 April 2018 followed a long period of consideration and review. It indicated that the Department will put in place a temporary arrangement for a period of ten years to enable mobile concrete batching plant to be operated in excess of the standard weight limits. The effect of this measure will be that relevant operators are provided with time to make any necessary changes in order to come into compliance with the currently-applicable legal requirements without the risk of prosecution.

Railways: West Lancashire

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of funding provision for the electrification of rail services operating through West Lancashire.

Joseph Johnson: Electric services already operate in the West Lancashire constituency from Ormskirk towards Liverpool. The Government recently set out plans to continue its record levels of investment in the railway across the country.The Government is taking a new approach to the way it enhances the railway.It is creating a rolling programme of investment, focused on outcomes that deliver real benefits to passengers, freight users and the economy. Our new approach, which is designed to allow us to ensure that our portfolio of rail enhancements is subject to ongoing assessment, was set out in the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline published last month. There are currently no projects for further electrification of lines in the West Lancashire constituency in the Government’s portfolio of enhancements.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Syria: Christianity

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government in Turkey on ending the attacks on the Christian community in Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​We are closely following developments in Afrin in north-western Syria, and the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are in regular contact with their Turkish counterparts. We have called for the protection of civilians. While recognising Turkey's legitimate interest in the security of its borders, it remains in our shared interest to focus on achieving a political settlement that ends the war in Syria, provides stability for all Syrians and the wider region, and secures the enduring defeat of Daesh. We have urged the Turkish government to use the current pause in operations to allow for delivery of humanitarian aid, in line with UNSCR 2401 and in accordance with applicable international law.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will press for an early recall of the UN Security Council in order to seek a resolution to the conflict in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The Government keeps under consideration whether a new UN resolution would support progress towards a political settlement in Yemen. Given the lack of agreement between the parties to the conflict at present, we judge that the best opportunity for progress comes through the appointment and work of Martin Griffiths as the new UN Special Envoy for Yemen. We encourage the parties to return to negotiations and participate constructively in the UN-led political process.

Overseas Trade: Occupied Territories

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2018 to Question 133853 on Occupied Territories, what assessment he has made of whether trade between British businesses and Israeli entities in the Occupied Territories is consistent with UN Security Council Resolution 2234.

Alistair Burt: UN Security Council Resolution 2234 refers to Cyprus, and not Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The UK did however vote for UN Security Council Resolution 2334, in line with our support for a two-state solution. The resolution calls on all states to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967. Ultimately the decision to operate in settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is for each individual or company. It has long been our position that Israeli settlement activity is illegal and undermines the viability of two states for two peoples.

Libya: Refugees

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government helped Libyan exiles or British Libyans living in the UK to travel to Libya in 2011.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not help Libyan exiles or British-Libyan dual nationals living in the UK to travel to Libya in 2011. Our Travel Advice during the 2011 conflict clearly advised against all travel to Libya. In light of the improving security situation from September 2011, we downgraded our advice in some areas, including Tripoli and Benghazi, to advise against all but essential travel.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government has provided to the UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is providing £1.3 million this financial year to the UN's Verification and Inspection Mechanism to facilitate commercial shipping and assure the Coalition that weapons are not coming into Yemen on large commercial ships docking at Red Sea ports. We have also deployed UK maritime experts to Djibouti to boost the inspections process, and increase the proportion of ships physically inspected almost ten-fold (from 8 per cent to 77 per cent).

Sierra Leone: Politics and Government

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made the political situation in Sierra Leone’s since the presidential elections in April 2018; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure peace and stability in that country.

Harriett Baldwin: Following the victory of President Maada Bio in the Presidential run-off in Sierra Leone on 4 April, there were sporadic outbreaks of violence, but the country remained largely calm. The President issued a statement condemning the violence and has initiated a cross-party committee to address incidents of political violence and intimidation across the country.The UK worked closely with Sierra Leone on election preparations and has done considerable work on policing and security sector reform to support stability in the country. We were pleased to see the Sierra Leone Police and security services respond well to the challenges of the election period. We will continue to work with the new administration to promote inclusive sustainable development in Sierra Leone.

Department for International Development

Bangladesh: Politics and Government

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with her counterpart in Bangladesh on the (a) restricted humanitarian space in Bangladesh and (b) issuance of lFD6/7 permits and visas for international non-governmental organisations in Cox’s Bazar.

Alistair Burt: Humanitarian access in Cox’s Bazar has improved since the current crisis began in August 2017 and more than one hundred humanitarian organisations are currently operating there. International non-governmental organisations face ongoing challenges with securing and renewing visas and permits however. UK Ministers and officials continue to liaise with their Government of Bangladesh counterparts on this issue.

Palestinians: Terrorism

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies on UK aid to the Palestinian Authority of the decision by that Authority to pay directly the salaries of convicted terrorists.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking in response to the Palestinian Authority’s announcement that it will revert to directly paying the salaries of convicted terrorists.

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the Palestinian Authority on the decision by that Authority to revert to paying directly the salaries of convicted terrorists.

Alistair Burt: At the time of responding to this question, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has not yet confirmed or announced that it will provide payments to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails directly. UK officials are in contact with the PA to monitor the situation and the British Consul-General in Jerusalem is planning to meet with a senior Palestinian representative as soon as possible to discuss this.

Palestinians: Education

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her Department's press release, Explaining British support for Palestinian education, published on 1 April 2018, how her Department plans to conduct the assessment of the Palestinian curriculum; and what plans she has to publish that assessment.

Alistair Burt: The UK has brought forward its planned thorough assessment of the Palestinian curriculum which will take some months to conclude. This will include a rigorous and independent review of the new pilot PA textbooks. Appropriate findings from this assessment will be released in due course.

Palestinians: Education

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her Department's press release, Explaining British support for Palestinian education, published on 1 April 2018, what steps her Department plans to take if there is evidence of material that incites violence in the Palestinian curriculum.

Alistair Burt: The UK has brought forward its planned independent assessment of the Palestinian curriculum. We will raise any unacceptable material directly with the Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister for Education and Higher Education and continue working with the Ministry to support a high quality education for Palestinian children including through its curriculum. Our sustained support to the PA means we have a robust relationship with senior PA ministers, underpinned by a Memorandum of Understanding which includes requirements for the PA to commit to the principle of non-violence and address allegations of incitement in the education curriculum.

Developing Countries: Disability

Mark Pawsey: What steps she is taking to support people with disabilities in developing countries.

Penny Mordaunt: Disability inclusion is a top priority for DFID, and we continue to build our programming in this area. In July the UK will host a Global Disability Summit to deliver lasting change for people with disabilities, focusing on inclusive education, economic empowerment, tackling stigma and discrimination, and technology and innovation.

Overseas Aid

Layla Moran: What steps her Department is taking to inform and educate UK citizens on the benefits of international development assistance.

Penny Mordaunt: Aid works, and DFID demonstrates this to the British public every day. We do this through media engagement, ministerial visits, speeches, development education, volunteering programmes, and through UK Aid Match. We also held a public event in Birmingham last month to showcase first-hand the life-changing value of UK aid.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Carol Monaghan: What steps her Department is taking to help prepare Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for the monsoon season.

Penny Mordaunt: We are supporting a wide range of measures including improvements to shelters, water and sanitation, vaccination campaigns and prepositioning of emergency supplies. We are encouraging the Government of Bangladesh to allocate additional land at lower risk of flooding, reduce density in the existing camps and put evacuation plans in place.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

Mr Paul Sweeney: What steps her Department is taking to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh from the effects of the monsoon season.

Penny Mordaunt: We are supporting a wide range of measures including improvements to shelters, water and sanitation, vaccination campaigns and prepositioning of emergency supplies. We are encouraging the Government of Bangladesh to allocate additional land at lower risk of flooding, reduce density in the existing camps and put evacuation plans in place.

Department for Education

Schools: Standards

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations her Department has received on the effect of Progress 8 on schools in white working class areas with high levels of deprivation.

Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he plans to amend the methodology for Progress 8 to take account of its effect in schools in white working class areas with high levels of deprivation.

Nick Gibb: The Department recently received correspondence from the Principal of a secondary school in Wythenshawe and Sale East on the perceived local effects of Progress 8. Officials will ensure the honourable member receives a copy of the Department’s response to the Principal. Progress 8 is designed to recognise the progress made by all pupils across the ability range, compared to pupils nationally with similar starting points. By taking prior attainment into account, it encourages schools to focus on lower attaining pupils as much as their higher attaining peers and means that schools with a challenging intake can demonstrate that their pupils are making positive progress. The Department understands concerns that schools with challenging intakes can have lower progress scores. That is why a range of additional contextual information is available on the performance tables website, including performance for different characteristic groups, such as disadvantaged pupils. Schools should not be judged solely on their performance data. Ofsted, the Regional Schools Commissioners and local authorities take a wide range of factors into account when considering school performance more broadly, including the make-up of a school’s cohort. There are therefore no plans at present to amend the Progress 8 methodology in the way proposed by the hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East.

Children: Exercise

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the campaign being run in schools by ITV and INEOS to promote the Daily Mile required the approval of his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The campaign by ITV and INEOS did not require the approval of the Department for Education. It is up to schools to decide what activities to offer to their pupils, and for private companies to decide the contents of the campaigns they run. The department supports the adoption of programmes that increase physical activity amongst pupils. Regular physical activity has been linked not only to improved physical health but also to improved mental wellbeing and academic attainment. Programmes such as the Daily Mile are simple, inclusive and can successfully engage the least active children in physical activity, helping them to achieve the 60 active minutes each day recommended by the UK chief medical officers.

Schools

Ruth George: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools are in the 20 per cent most deprived areas.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department does not routinely produce information about schools in the 20% most deprived areas. The department’s main measure of deprivation is the percentage of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and this is included in School Performance Tables. The full list of FSM rates per school can be downloaded from the School Performance Tables website and ranked accordingly: https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/.

Special Educational Needs: Autism

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve the educational experience for children with autism.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support children with autism at school.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to improve support for children with special educational needs in schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education (DfE) has funded the Autism Education Trust (AET) since 2011 to deliver autism awareness training for early years, school and post-16 education staff. To date, the AET has provided training for more than 150,000 education staff. The training is available for all those who work in schools, not just teachers. The AET has also published national autism standards for educational settings and a competency framework for those working with children and young people with autism. We have recently confirmed a two-year extension to the contract with the AET worth £1.45 million.In addition to our work with the AET, DfE also works to ensure that all schools meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with autism. To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must satisfy the Teachers’ Standards, which include a requirement that they have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND, and are able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them. The framework of content for Initial Teacher Training also now requires training providers to include modules on specific types of SEND, including autism, to ensure that all new teachers understand the needs of such pupils and are well equipped to support them.It is the responsibility of schools to determine the needs of their staff to meet the needs of children with SEND within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management. The performance of all teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the Teachers' Standards. Each school (including academies and free schools) must also have a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who must hold qualified teacher status, and usually they must undertake the Masters level National Award in SEN co-ordination within three years of being appointed. We have provided funding to a range of organisations leading on different kinds of SEND to develop resources and training to equip the school workforce, including on autism. A SEND review tool to help schools identify priorities and build school-to-school approaches to improvement is now available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/commissioning-a-send-review. This is supported by a number of tools to address any weaknesses identified by a review, available at www.sendgateway.org.uk. We will also shortly be awarding a two-year contract to provide strategic support to the workforce in mainstream and special schools, from foundation stage to sixth form, in delivering high quality teaching across all types of SEND.

Pupil Exclusions

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children were informally excluded from schools in academic year 2016-17; and how many of those informal exclusions related to SEND children.

Nick Gibb: Any exclusion of a pupil, even for a short period of time, must be formally recorded.The head teacher of a school can only exclude a pupil on disciplinary grounds. The decision to exclude a pupil must be lawful, reasonable and fair. The Department does not hold the information on any children who have been prevented from attending school outside of this process.

Free School Meals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to increase the take-up of free school meals among eligible pupils.

Nadhim Zahawi: Every child, regardless of background, should have the very best start in life. In 2014 the government extended free school meals (FSM) to disadvantaged students in further education institutions and introduced universal infant free school meals. The department wants all parents whose children are entitled to them to apply for them. Guidance is provided to Jobcentre Plus advisers so that Universal Credit recipients can be made aware that they may also be entitled to wider benefits, including FSM. The department provides an eligibility checking system to make the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible for schools and local authorities, and have developed a model registration form to help schools encourage parents to sign up for FSM. The government wants to make sure those who are eligible for a free school meal claim it, and so it is important that it as simple as possible for schools and local authorities to determine eligibility for FSM. The department is exploring what opportunities exist in the longer term to make FSM registration processes more efficient.

Social Mobility Commission: Public Appointments

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress has been made in the appointment of the (a) Chair and (b) board of the Social Mobility Commission.

Nadhim Zahawi: The recruitment of a new Chair of the Social Mobility Commission is underway and applications closed on 30 March. Interviews will take place in May. This is a public appointment, and the process will be completed following the procedures set out in the Governance Code for Public Appointments. We plan to begin the recruitment process for new Commissioners shortly, to allow the new Chair to be involved in the process.

Pre-school Education: Assessments

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to publish information on the tasks on which children will be assessed under the forthcoming early years baseline assessment; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department will be working to develop the baseline assessment by trialling it in the 2018/19 academic year. A nationally representative selection of schools will be selected to participate in this trial, which will allow us to evaluate and refine the assessment. We will be consulting key stakeholders throughout this process.

Disabled Students' Allowances

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the introduction of the £200 self-contribution for disabled students who are in receipt of disabled student allowances on (a) the take-up of the equipment needed to study independently and (b) trends in the level of participation of disabled students; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The most recent data show that, for full-time undergraduate students domiciled in England, 4,600 fewer students were in receipt of equipment Disabled Students Allowances (DSAs) in 2015/16 than in 2014/15. The full data are available at http://www.slc.co.uk/official-statistics/financial-support-awarded/england-higher-education.aspx. The main reason for this fall is that the £200 student contribution to the costs of computer hardware took effect from September 2015. This government remains committed to supporting disabled students in higher education, both through DSAs and through supporting higher education providers’ efforts to improve the support they offer their disabled students. Alongside this commitment, we are keen to better understand the impact of DSAs on eligible students, including that of recent DSAs reforms. We have commissioned a research project to explore this – we will respond to the research findings when they are available in spring 2018.

Free School Meals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of pupils in England who are (a) eligible and (b) not registered for free school meals.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally. Our latest research on this subject, published in December 2013, showed that 89% of those eligible for free school meals (FSM) also claimed for FSM. This research is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266339/DFE-RR319.pdf.

Science: GCE A-level

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of physics and chemistry at A-level.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils studying physics at A-level has increased by 16% since 2010. The number of pupils studying chemistry has increased by 18% since 2010. These are important subjects for a dynamic and productive economy fit for the future.In 2016, the Department introduced more rigorous and challenging science GCSEs which will provide students with better foundations to study science at A level. The Government funds a number of programmes that improve the quality of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) teaching in primary and secondary schools. These include the national network of Science Learning Partnerships, Project Enthuse bursaries, and the Stimulating Physics Network. The Department also funds Isaac Physics, which provides online support for A level physics students and their teachers.The Department is following various avenues for raising awareness amongst children of the range of careers that science qualifications offer. This includes the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 30,000 volunteers, drawn from a wide range of employers, who work with schools and non-school organisations across the UK.

Free School Meals

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students enrolled at (a) selective school and academy sixth forms, (b) non-selective school and academy sixth forms, (c) sixth form colleges and (d) 16-19 academies were eligible for free school meals at academic age 15.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

GCSE

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average GCSE results are for students enrolled at 16-19 academies in England.

Nick Gibb: The Department publishes GCSE attainment for pupils, at the end of key stage 4, broken down by the type of school attended, including ‘further education colleges with provision for 14 to 16 year olds’. These figures are for pupils who are ordinarily aged 16 at the end of that academic year. These attainment figures are available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-gcses-key-stage-4.[1] The Department also publishes entries and achievement of GCSE English and mathematics from 2015/16 for students, at the end of their 16 to 18 study, at a national level. These figures are for pupils who have already completed their key stage 4 study, have enrolled in a further education institution, and sat GCSE English or maths during their enrolment. The figures are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-attainment-at-19-years.[2] [1] Access this link and select the ‘revised’ publication for the year(s) you are interested in. Open the ‘main national tables’. For 2016/17, you require tab ‘table 2a’ and row 16; for 2015/16, tab ‘table 2a’ and row 19 and for 2014/15, tab ‘table 3a’ and row 19. Not all of the further education colleges included will be academies. The headline measures used in each year have changed and it is not advised to compare directly between years, further information can be found in the ‘quality and methodology’ document located alongside the ‘main national tables’ for each year.[2] Access this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-attainment-at-19-years and select the ‘revised’ publication for 2015/16 and 2016/17, open the ‘national tables’ and select tabs ‘8a’ and ‘8b.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Domestic Waste: Waste Disposal

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on the practice of local authorities charging residents to dispose of DIY household waste.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of whether proposals by Norfolk County Council to introduce charges for DIY waste are compliant with his Department's policies on household waste; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We have not carried out an assessment of these proposals. There is a long established precedent of free access for local residents to deposit household waste at household waste recycling centres. In 2015, the Government made an order prohibiting local authorities from charging householders to deposit household waste at civic amenity sites or household waste recycling centres. Where local authorities charge for the deposit of non-household items at Household Waste Recycling Centres, this should be done in line with the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012. Where charges are proposed, they should be proportionate and transparent and made in consultation with local residents so that local services meet local needs.

Palm Oil: Imports

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) palm oil imports are sustainably sourced and (b) the effect of those products on deforestation is assessed effectively.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In 2006, the Government published a study into the environmental impacts of a number of commodities; it noted that the principle environmental impact of palm oil was deforestation. In 2012 we published the UK Statement on the Sustainable Production of Palm Oil; which was signed by trade associations, NGOs and Government. The 2017 review notes that signatories have achieved a high level of success in delivering the Statement’s ambition of working towards 100% sourcing of credibly certified sustainable palm oil by the end of 2015. The government is committed to supporting the implementation of deforestation-free supply chains for key commodities, including palm oil. We are signatory to the Amsterdam Declarations and have endorsed the New York Declaration on Forests which support a fully sustainable palm oil supply chain from 2020. We are also a member of Tropical Forest Alliance 2020; a public-private co-operation working to help organisations achieve their deforestation-free commitments, eliminate illegality from supply chains and improve the quality and availability of deforestation and supply chain data.

Food: Labelling

Mr Paul Sweeney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to end the use of food labels which are likely to mislead consumers; and whether his Department plans to introduce mandatory labelling on the farming method used for (a) meat, (b) milk and (c) dairy products.

George Eustice: Under the Food Information to Consumers Regulations (EU 1169/2011) it is a requirement that food information shall not be misleading, as to its country of origin or place of provenance, method of manufacture or production or by attributing to the food effects or properties which it does not possess. It is a key priority as the UK prepares to leave the EU to ensure there remains a robust and effective regulatory regime for maintaining the safety of food for the benefit of UK consumers and of the UK food industry. The Secretary of State has set out our ambition to develop a recognised gold standard system for food and farming quality, to ensure that we maintain the highest standards of quality and transparency for consumers and take opportunities to market British food across the world.

Food: Labelling

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent food retailers from using labelling to indicate that animals not reared outdoors were reared outside.

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that food labelling accurately indicates that  animals used to produce the meat were raised (a) indoors and (b) outdoors.

George Eustice: Under the Food Information to Consumers Regulations (EU 1169/2011) it is a requirement that food information shall not be misleading, as to its country of origin or place of provenance, method of manufacture or production or by attributing to the food effects or properties which it does not possess. It is a key priority as the UK prepares to leave the EU to ensure there remains a robust and effective regulatory regime for maintaining the safety of food for the benefit of UK consumers and of the UK food industry. The Secretary of State has set out our ambition to develop a gold standard system for food and farming quality, to ensure that we maintain the highest standards of quality and transparency for consumers and take opportunities to market British food across the world.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Professions: Qualifications

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what progress the Government is making in securing the maintenance of mutual recognition of professional qualifications after the UK leaves the EU and the expiry of the implementation period.

Mr Robin Walker: As the Prime Minister said in her Mansion House speech, the UK is committed to securing a continued system for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications as part of a bold and ambitious future economic partnership with the EU. The UK has agreed with the EU the continued recognition of qualifications for residents and frontier workers, where recognition decisions were received or where recognition decisions were ongoing before the end of the implementation period. This will cover qualifications recognised under the MRPQ Directive, lawyers practising under host title and approved statutory auditors. The March European Council agreed guidelines for negotiations on our future relationship, referencing the desire of the EU27 to include ambitious provisions on the recognition of qualifications. This is a useful starting point for the next stage of negotiations on the future economic partnership.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what progress the Government is making in negotiations with the European Union on reciprocal arrangements for health care in the UK and the EU after the (a) UK leaves the EU and (b) expiry of the implementation period.

Mr Robin Walker: The current structure of EU rules and regulations will apply until the end of the implementation period and this includes reciprocal healthcare arrangements. The UK and the EU have also agreed on reciprocal healthcare arrangements for the purposes of the Withdrawal Agreement. After the implementation period ends, those who fall within scope of that agreement for social security coordination purposes will be entitled to reciprocal healthcare cover on the terms laid out under that deal. Reciprocal healthcare rights for individuals not in scope of the Withdrawal Agreement will be a matter for further negotiation with the EU. At every step of the negotiations we will work to ensure the best possible outcome for the British people.

Wales Office

Wales Office: Public Expenditure

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, with reference to the Written Statement of 13 March 2018, Spring Statement, HCWS 540, if he will publish a list of where the £0.3 million in EU exit funding for his Department will be allocated.

Stuart Andrew: The Wales Office has used the £0.3 million in EU exit funding to recruit more staff to work on matters relating to EU exit.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Mobile Phones

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mobile phones confiscated in each prison have been analysed for information contained in them for each year since 2010.

Rory Stewart: The number of mobile phones (including SIM cards) seized in prisons that are analysed for information each year is as follows 2010 – No data available2011 – 106432012 – 95412013 – 65052014 – 126122015 – 98772016 – 102692017 – 4484* *Fewer examinations took place in 2017 due to the creation of a new examination facility in HMPPS. During this time particularly high-interest phones were prioritised for examination. Therefore, we can expect the number to rise again in 2018.

Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2018 to Question 132514, if he will publish the monthly scorecards for each prison in which Amey is responsible for maintenance since such scorecards were first recorded.

Rory Stewart: There are currently no plans to publish the monthly scorecards relating to the prison facilities management contracts with Amey. The MoJ closely monitors private providers performance and will not hesitate to act where standards fall short.

Legal Aid Scheme: Domestic Violence

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ensure applications for Legal Aid for victims of domestic violence are not means tested against the victim's partner's income; and if he will make a statement.

Lucy Frazer: The government is clear that victims of domestic violence must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid. We have recently made changes to the legal aid evidence requirements to make it easier for victims of domestic abuse to access legal aid in private family law matters. This includes introducing new forms of evidence, such as broadening the categories of health professionals who can provide evidence, and removing the five year time limit from all forms of evidence. We have also prioritised funding for those who will be disadvantaged by facing their abuser in court. Where the allegation of domestic violence is against the applicant’s partner, who is the opponent in the proceedings, the means test will not take into account the partner’s resources.

John Worboys

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reasons were for information on the (a) rape kit, (b) remarks made by the sentencing judge at Worboys’ trial and (c) new information that emerged as a result of the legal action against the Metropolitan Police, not being included in the dossier of evidence on the John Worboys case that was provided to the Parole Board.

Rory Stewart: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Reoffenders: Homicide

Dr Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people previously convicted of (a) murder and (b) other killings have subsequently been convicted of carrying out additional killings after being released from prison in each year since 2010; and how many of those people had been serving (i) life and (ii) indeterminate sentences before being so released.

Rory Stewart: (a) The mandatory sentence for murder is life imprisonment. The number of offenders serving a life sentence for murder and, after being released, subsequently convicted of an offence or offences which resulted in death is in column (a) in the table below. (b) The number of offenders serving a sentence for offences resulting in death (but not murder) and, after being released, subsequently convicted of an offence or offences resulting in death is in column (b) below. None of these offenders was serving an indeterminate sentence. The numbers given in each column relate to the year in which the offenders concerned were charged with an offence or offences which resulted in death not the year in which they were convicted.Year a) Life sentenced prisoners convicted of murder or other offences resulting in death at both index offence and SFOb)Other sentenced offenders convicted of offences resulting in death at both index offence and SFO2010 112011 212012 002013 212014 122015 212016 002017 30* Not all SFO outcomes have been received for 2017, as some cases have not yet reached conclusion

Cabinet Office

Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact report, The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund's (CSSF) aid spending: A performance review, published March 2018, what steps the Government is taking to tackle gaps in results management; and what assessment his Department has made of the value for money of existing CSSF programmes.

Mr David Lidington: Ministers will carefully consider all of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact’s recommendations and the Government will formally respond to them by 10 May 2018. The response will be made public on GOV.UK and deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.

Local Government: Elections

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure good cyber security practices are followed for the systems that support the delivery of UK elections ahead of local government elections in May.

Chloe Smith: Whilst responsibility for the delivery of local elections remains with individual Returning Officers, the security of our electoral processes is a priority for the Cabinet Office. Ahead of the local elections, security guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) has been issued to all Local Authorities. This guidance is available on the NCSC website

Absent Voting: Pilot Schemes

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the local statutory orders for the proxy and postal voting pilots in Peterborough, Slough and Tower Hamlets.

Chloe Smith: Electoral fraud is unacceptable on any level, and vulnerabilities cannot be allowed to continue and undermine the integrity of our democracy.In his report of his review into electoral fraud Sir Eric Pickles recommended that the requirement to provide ID in polling stations should apply to proxy voters. He also recommended that guidance should be provided in postal vote packs on the secrecy of the vote and how to report electoral fraud.Tower Hamlets, Slough and Peterborough are piloting measures to improve the security of the postal vote process, including providing additional information in postal vote packs to help voters report any suspicions of electoral fraud.The Orders to enable the proxy and postal voting pilots in Peterborough, Slough and Tower Hamlets have been made and published on gov.uk

Government Departments: Carillion

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many live contracts Government departments and agencies have with Carillion and its subsidiary companies.

Oliver Dowden: Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archiveThose published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Interserve

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what contingency plans his Department has put in place in the event of the collapse of Strategic Supplier Interserve.

Oliver Dowden: We continuously review our relationships with our Strategic suppliers and take appropriate contingency measures to ensure he continuity of service delivery.It is not appropriate to discuss contingency plans for Government contracts as these are commercially sensitive.

Voluntary Work

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the role of Crown Representative for the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector was vacant between September 2014 and February 2018.

Oliver Dowden: The role of VCSE Crown Representative was vacant while a suitable candidate was being identified. A list of current Crown Representatives and Strategic Suppliers can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers

Civil Service

Patrick Grady: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will respond to EDM 925, Professionalism and value of the British Civil Service.

Oliver Dowden: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

National Fraud Initiative

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much has been taken in fees to the National Fraud Initiative from (a) the public sector, b) the private sector and (c) mandatory reporting bodies in each year since 2014.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

National Fraud Initiative

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the costs of running the National Fraud Initiative have been in each year since 2014.

Chloe Smith: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Tours

Sir David Amess: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the total cost is of the proposed Visitor Services Academy programme scheduled to commence in October 2018.

Tom Brake: The cost of the training programme for newly recruited guides is £11,265 with an ongoing training and development budget for 2018/19 of £7,000.

Parliamentary Tours

Sir David Amess: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what qualifications will be required of the staff responsible for training tour guides under the new Visitor Service Academy programme scheduled to commence in October 2018.

Tom Brake: The Academy will be an internal accreditation developing the skills and expertise of the Visitor Engagement Assistants delivering tours from October. It will be a specialist and formally structured programme, and the trainers used will be both internal and external. There will be no mandatory qualifications formally required of the staff responsible for delivering training. They will be appointed based upon their ability to demonstrate the necessary skills and expertise required. The model has been benchmarked against a number of external organisations and its approach to training is in line with that provided at comparable organisations.

Parliamentary Tours

Sir David Amess: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what estimate has been made of the total cost of the Tour Guides Project proposed to commence in October 2018.

Tom Brake: The forecast cost of running the project’s selected new model to provide an estimated 8,850 guided tours of Parliament per year (comprising approximately 4,500 free ‘Democratic Access’ tours to constituents, 3,800 paid-for commercial tours on Saturdays and during recess, and 550 paid-for tours for attendees of banqueting events) is £3,159,745 over a five year period between 2018/19 and 2022/23. This includes an initial upfront investment of £180,000 in 2018/19 to set up the new model. By comparison, the cost of continuing to run the existing model (where the same number of tours would be provided by a mixture of outsourcing to a private provider and relying on a pool of casual workers with no guaranteed work) was forecast to cost £802,420 more over the same period.In addition to delivering financial savings, the new model will also deliver significant improvements in Parliament’s control over the quality, consistency and diversity of our tours and visitor engagement services through in-sourcing and investing in the professional development of our guides.

Parliamentary Tours

Sir David Amess: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the timetable is for the delivery and operation of the (a) Tour Guides Project and (b) Visitors Services Academy Programme.

Tom Brake: The delivery of the Tour Guides Project is already in progress and the implementation plan is on track; the new model for guided tours will be fully in operation in order to replace the current contract with an outsourced supplier which comes to an end on 17 October 2018. The new model consists of an insourced core team of guides taking the majority of guided tours, supported by a contract with a commercial provider for the provision of guided tours in foreign languages and Welsh.The Visitor Services Academy is a training programme that will train a team of Visitor Engagement Assistants to deliver guided tours from October. The Academy will start in August 2018 for the Visitor Engagement Assistants, and from June 2018 for current Visitor Services team members and the four new Team Leaders who are currently being recruited. The academy will deliver a structured programme of support and training using both internal and external expertise and will include regular monitoring and assessment.